Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
9 November 2009
08:1832690Two stories in the papers this morning, each really not important in itself, trivial perhaps and not really political issues. But what they do is demonstrate how the all important media narrative is wholly against Gordon Brown, not only that but also how he cannot get even the simplest things right.
His not bowing his head at the right time at the Cenotaph, and
His sartorial 'ineligence' while out running.
It really does show the Jonah effect that so many people talk about regarding Brown. He cannot get anything right. Everything he does turns to dust.
Just seen the following as well.
Jackie Ashley in her Monday Guardian column says Labours private polling is telling them they will return with just 120 at the General Election. She is one of the better connected journalists with Labour and one of their first real friends in the media. These are spectacular figures and it could mean the end of Labour once and for all.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
9 November 2009
10:0232696Im afraid poor oul Gordie is indeed having a rough time..but is it justified? This morning I heard on the flagship Today programme R4, that he wrote to a mother who lost her son in Afghanistan and he seemingly spelt her name wrong. Okay it could be an honest mistake, as he has taken the trouble to hand write to every family as I understand it, but should he be pilloried for such a minor error that any one of us would make...especially when we hand write stuff.
This woman clearly chose to contact the media.... which is in my view a shame. PM advisers henceforth will advise Prime Ministers not to hand write to people henceforth, as you are on a hiding to nothing. No Im afraid the standard machine processed document will be de riquer for the future. So something is lost.
I see the latest polls are suggesting that Labour will hold that Glasgow seat vacated by the former speaker...so there still may be a resilience. The swing towards Tory might just go so far and no further.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
9 November 2009
10:2932697PaulB - a Scottish seat such as Glasgow would take an atomic bomb to unseat Labour. Their real opposition there of course is the SNP.
If Labour drop to as few as 120 seats after the next election, despite their inbuilt structural advantage worth about 30 seats, imagine how much worse it will be for them when the imbalance is resolved before the next election..... Once a party's national machine has been so devastated it may be very difficult to climb back, if not impossible. Particularly if the LibDems become seen as the main opposition which on those figures is likely.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
9 November 2009
11:4232700A also see he is also now castigated over his spelling of a dead soldier's name and his hurried letter of condolence. Well I suppose it at least shows he does send them...
He really is a complete disaster area.
Mrs T never made a mistake like that despite the fact that she hand wrote over 220 letters in the very short period that the Falklands was fought over. A much higher attrition rate than the longer draw out Afghanistan war.
Terry Nunn
- Location: London Road, Dover
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9 November 2009
11:5932701Reminds me of the year when Michael Foot turned up wearing a donkey jacket!
Terry
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Guest 670- Registered: 23 Apr 2008
- Posts: 573
9 November 2009
12:0032702I think you must read the Sun newspaper Barry because your politics (post 4) is defiitely sinking to their level.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
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9 November 2009
12:2832706BarryW I did refer to the dead soldiers name item in my post above no2.
Well I think its unfortunate nowadays that people are obsessed by going to the newspapers or the media in general with such small items to make political capital out of it. Clearly the intention was to cause harm to the Prime Minister after he took the trouble to write personally...which is a great shame in my view.. jeez any of us can make mistakes and yes even the PM !!
But many people will have received letters from the Prime Minister and it wont matter to them which party he belongs to. To receive a letter from the PM must give them hope and encouragement at time of need. Okay its a pity there was a spelling error but gosh when something is hand written its easily done.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
9 November 2009
12:5832708barry
would you really like to see the end of the labour party?
we would then effectively have a one party state, we know how that progresses.
no debates in the commons, nothing for the journalists to discuss, no doubt with a goose stepping prime minister.
the third party, whether they are the liberals, sdp, libdem, alliance(add any name) are just a talking shop with some very good minds in it, but are incapable of forming a government.
they know it, as does the electorate.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
9 November 2009
13:4432711Howard - yes I would like to see the Labour Party utterly destroyed into minor party status alongside the greens and BNP. their every period of Government has descended inot economic disaster and they should never again get the chance to wreck the economy.
No, I disagree that this this would mean a one-party state. We would still need and get a left of centre Party, the likely ones of course being the Libdems. A re-alignment in the scale of 1922 could be on the cards.
Mind you howard - it would be nice to shift the centre several steps to the right so the Conservatives would become the 'left of centre' party with UKIP the centre right opposition. No more socialism.... bliss...sadly not likely....
Dave1. I quote this as just another example how Brown is just unable to get anything right, everything he touches turns to dust. There is so much contempt for Brown in the Forces it is unprecedented and this kind of thing just makes it even worse.
There is yet another example of Brown's blundering around reported in the Spectator. He gatecrashed the Finance Ministers meeting to push his banking tax that was already a non-runner as it was only supported only by France. This has driven another wedge between him and Darling because it demonstrated how Brown dont trust his Chancellor. He has turned himself into a figure of fun at the G20 and once again a national embarrassment. What a loser.
here is a link to the report
http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/5519948/renewed-tension-between-brown-and-darling.thtmlBrian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
9 November 2009
17:4432723a one party state = dictatership,it would lead to mugabe style russian state with a boy in charge.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
9 November 2009
18:0632725you are in a very small minority there barry, the labour party will always survive because they have a steady support.
way down at the moment, just as the blues were way down back in 1997.
token opposition is no real opposition, brian is right, we would end up with a mugabe style government.
the british people are far too sensible to ever give too much power to one party.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
9 November 2009
18:3332729Howard I am not suggesting power to one Party, read what I said. I am saying that the scale of Labour defeat could deservedly lead to a re-alignment in British politics, such that we have not seen since 1922 when Labour replaced the Liberals. This could happen again with Labour replaced by the LibDems and I hope it does.
The Mugabe comment is simply not worthy of a response.
Labour have been an unmitigated economic disaster every time they get into office. They are like children getting their hands on the sweetie jar, they overdose on spending, taxing and borrowing until the sweetie jar runs out.
Labour's position is fafr worse than the Conservatives in 1996. An investigation by political betting found that in 1996 Conservatives were polling in the early/mid 30's. Labour now are polling in the mid/late 20's
Ross Miller
- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,698
9 November 2009
22:0432736Does that take account of your 30 seat bias Barry?
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
Ross Miller- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,698
9 November 2009
22:1432737Oh and if you and the Tory faction you are representative of think UKIP are centre right you are even more right wing than many people feared
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
9 November 2009
22:3932738'Tory faction' now, now Ross...
UKIP politically are close to the traditional right of the Conservative Party, exactly where I stand. They are too 'narrow a church' to become a Party of Government in reality and that is why I and most like me support the broader church Conservative Party.
The 'centre' shifts left and right, it is not a fixed point. It would be great if the failed concepts of socialism and big government were consigned to the dustbin of history. In so doing the centre ground would swing towards the right, luvverly jubbly, as they say!!!
Ross Miller- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,698
9 November 2009
23:0132740It would be a sad day for the old, the poor, the sick, the disenfranchised.
No NuLab is not the answer and has not been for some considerable time, because they really have lost the plot. But so did the last Tory administration in their third term.
Perhaps it is time to have some form of consensus government that will genuinely stick to not only the middle ground but what is in the best interests of all members of our society. There are some talented skilled politicians in all the major (and some of the minor) parties ought to be working co-operatively in the best interests of the country.
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
9 November 2009
23:2332741nice try barry, you clearly want a right wing government with just a debating society as opposition.
i would love to see the blues leadership expund that viewpoint and see what happens.
personally i like living in a lively democracy, for all it's faults.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
10 November 2009
00:4332742No Howard. It is not necessary to have one side of the political spectrum wedded to discredited socialist/big government policies.
It would be far healthier and better for the poor to have competing Parties who believe in less Government and work to build all our wealth through the private sector and a strong economy. There is still plenty of room for differences in policy and approaches.
Time to stop this cycle where we get a big spending high borrowing, high Government derailing the economy at frequent intervals and screwing things up.
10 November 2009
08:5332743My first thought on hearing about the mis-spelt name and that poor grieving Mother was how typical of the Sun to manipulate a vulnerable person for their own political ends. I don't defend Brown - this isn't about Politics in the Big Sense - but he took the time and trouble to write personally to people, and he is visually impaired, and the names he is given are the names he is given, why would he ask "is this the right name?". If he had got someone else to do it and someone else to type it that would also have been wrong in many peoples eyes, including mine. Politicians are human - another reason why the "sex scandals" that are perpetuated in politics are so idiotic and a simple distraction. Who cares, when we acknowledge that we are all human we can just get on with the job.
Mrs T did hand write to people, but I suspect the motives were a little different. This was the woman who told her children that the best way to please her was not to bother her.
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
10 November 2009
09:2532744nicely said bern,to err is human to be spot 100% of the time is inhuman,gordan brown is no robot.