While all the Hacks are analysing the strength of David Cameron’s new revitalised Tories, they miss one big point.
Sure, DC and chums are doing very well right now, and that will no doubt continue. And like the Hacks, I am sure that the Conservatives, if they carry on as they are, going to be the driving force behind Gordon Browns downfall. But there’s more to the demise of GB’s power. And that lies in the Labour Party itself.
So many of Blair’s allies are turned off by Brown. He just doesn’t have the same special touch. And while Blair had the ability to reach out and touch those disillusioned Tory voters, Brown only seems to appeal to the old-school Labour faithful.
Remember Charles Clarke? Gordon’s tried to bring him back to the fold with no avail. The trouble is, GB wants to give these people jobs to appease them, but not actually give them any power. Clarke was offered the role of personal envoy for deportations. Sounded great. Clarke would have a solid mandate to actually do some good. However, upon looking into the small print, it appeared that Grumpy Gordon didn’t want to give Clarke any specifics about the jobs responsibilities and its powers. Clarke pushed the issue to hard, (i.e. he asked too many of the right questions), and the offer disappeared.
And the peers? Don’t go there. The former ambassador to Washington, Lord Renwick, has resigned the government whip. His reasons have been spelled out clearly by one of his friends: “He {Renwick} was comfortable with Tony Blair, but he doesn’t like Gordon Brown”. You don’t get much clearer than that do you? And many others have done the same. A picture is being painted here.
Gordon Brown wanted to push his competence on the economy as the main thing to win him an election. However, those who work in the city and get to hear Gordon Brown’s musings, are seeing just how bad he is on this subject too. They are fleeing in droves. The top cheese of the CBI has been very vocal on this. Gordon Brown just doesn’t get economics. That is a huge behemoth of a damning indictment.
Even the civil servants are frustrated by his lack of ability to delegate. He wants to be in control of everything, which when you think of the sheer scale of government, means that he is in control of nothing. It’s even harder for him to control, because of the awful way he has overcomplicated things. Things under this government have not really gotten that much better. They’ve just gotten more complicated, so it’s hard to see the mistakes made. In a period of public desire for transparency, Gordon Brown is initiating all the smoke-and-mirrors acts he can.
So while the Tories will be at the forefront of bringing this government down, don't forget, as the Hacks seem to, that Gordon will do a lot of the work for them. Remember where you heard it first!