Variants on the question “Is Gordon Brown finished?” continue to dominate much political commentary, with The Guardian today running a fascinating first-hand account of what it’s like working with him:
When Gordon Brown used to hold meetings at the Treasury, coffee would be served with the milk already added. I always thought that summed up his style. Such was his eagerness to get on to business that he had no time for the 20 seconds it would take to pass round the jug and the biscuits, a ritual that broke the ice across the rest of Whitehall.
The pieces goes on to detail many aspects of working with Brown, including the government by temper tantrum approach that seems so popular amongst much of his camp. Well worth a read. Meanwhile, The Week magazine rather pithily sums up Brown’s indecision, drawing on an account in the Financial Times:
He raised expectation of an election, then called it off. He signed the Lisbon Treaty but skipped the ceremony, thereby annoying everyone. He received the Olympic flame at No.10, but refused to touch it. British troops in Iraq are holed up at Basra airport – both staying and withdrawing.
Meanwhile, although it’s not that uncommon for a politician to be told that what they’ve said is all “lies, lies, lies”, it is a bit unusual for it to be the Labour leader of a council making the comments and directing them at his council colleagues. Jonathan Wallace has the story.
To round off the list Labour MP Rob Marris has been arrested by the police over the manner in which he appears to have boarded a bus. But in the spirit of political balance, I should also point out that former Conservative Minister Rod Richards has also been arrested over allegations that he punched a canvasser.
UPDATE: Meanwhile, in Liverpool a Labour councillor (Ben Williams) has been charged with downloading indecent pictures of children from the internet. UPDATE 2: Ben Williams was subsequently tried and acquitted.
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7 Comments
I can’t help feeling that, given what Mr Marris was arrested for (climbing over the bonnet of a car that was parked blocking a bus stop), we should be applaudingt him and condemning the selfish cretin who parked the car illegally. Is he or she being prosecuted?
Hear, hear Rosalind.
An unusual action by Mr Marris, but I can understand his frustration.
Wilmslow was particularly bad for cars being parked in a way that obstructed bus access – in fact I quickly realised that BMW stands for “Buses Must Wait” !
Mr Marris has been charged with causing criminal damage, not with climbing over a vehicle.
The examples of “indecision” given are perversely almost all of definitive decisions. Even the election one ultimately is a tale of a decision taken, rather too publically and too extenuated as it goes.
Decided to sign Lisbon.
Decided to sign at his own convenience, saving four hours of the day for other business.
Why would he handle the Olympic flame? Have any other world leaders done so? Was he asked to do so?
Decided to withdraw British troops, subject to situation on ground.
Did so to a point. Then decided to slow things down. On advice.
Mostly examples of decisions taken in fact. A bit nuanced for Lib Dems possibly.
Meanwhile the milk in coffee anecdote is chilling. It really is.
Chris Paul,
democratic politics is neither about convenience for the one at the top, or done at the behest of their whimsy.
Both could otherwise be summarised as economics, in which case Brown is in the wrong job.
Democratic politics is about leadership and drawing the connection of that lead all the way through to the tail – something Brown is inherently incapable of doing.
From his style I can only say Brown would have a far more productive relationship with Bismarck than JFK.
Gordon is in a bad way,but events can change his prospects. Remember Maggie Thatcher was extremely unpopular until the Falklands War, which some might unkindly suggest was precipitated by her leaving the islands ill-prepared to be defended following cuts in the navy. A week is a long time in politics!
The news about Ben Williams shocks me. I was taught by him in college a few years ago. I simply can’t believe that this is true.
This really brings home to me that behind all this tittle-tattle that we engage in on the blogosphere (and, for my sins, I am a fully paid up Lib Dem) there is always a person behind the headline. We would do well to bear that in mind.