Bliar in Meltdown?
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Blair will have to face down his backbenchers
Daily Telegraph 09/05/2006
Daily Telegraph 09/05/2006
Tony Blair has clearly learnt the lesson of 1990, when Margaret Thatcher fell because she lost the support of her Cabinet. Last week's appointments were made without reference to the fitness of the candidate for the job, but solely according to the degree of their loyalty to the Prime Minister.
The promotion of Margaret Beckett from Defra to the Foreign Office is a perverse reward for her devastation of British farming; it can be understood only in the light of Jack Straw's "tarting" himself (Mr Blair's word) to Gordon Brown in recent months.
The same goes for Ruth Kelly, who has been banished from education to "communities and local government". The hapless Patricia Hewitt, meanwhile, has survived at health purely because she is loyal; and Mr Blair has in the new Defra secretary, David Miliband, a loyalist of the first stamp.
Add Alan Johnson and John Reid as captains of the guard, and the Prime Minister has collected about him a phalanx of men and women who will keep him safe.
But Mr Blair must go sometime, and the current surviving and promoted ministers must be looking askance at their good fortune. For this was such a nakedly political reshuffle that its beneficiaries are identified automatically as the ancien régime. Charles Clarke, perhaps, will be the biggest gainer in the long term: he was sacked by Mr Blair, and already Mr Brown has hinted that he will bring him back.
When will that be? MPs are said to be collecting signatures for a letter to the Prime Minister calling for a "timetable" for his departure. Although we share the wish to see the back of Mr Blair, this is an absurd suggestion, and he is surely right to refuse it. He will go, when he goes, suddenly - either at the moment of his own choosing or because he is forced out.
Mr Brown, the one man Mr Blair could not sack from his Cabinet, could, if he wished, precipitate a leadership contest at any moment by the simple expedient of resigning.
His curious reluctance to launch an assassination attempt owes a little, no doubt, to common decency; a lot more to his fear that such aggressive and selfish behaviour would alienate moderate opinion in the country; and most of all to the wish not to inherit a divided and embittered party.
But, in the end, events may be decided without Mr Brown having to lift a finger. The Parliamentary Labour Party rightly feels the reshuffle was an insult to them. Many hold to the belief that Mr Blair's departure will cause a boost to Labour's poll rating.
A direct confrontation between the back benches and Number 10, sometime before the party conference in October, is now more likely than not. Mr Blair's sweaty and tetchy performance at his press conference yesterday morning suggests he knows it.
The promotion of Margaret Beckett from Defra to the Foreign Office is a perverse reward for her devastation of British farming; it can be understood only in the light of Jack Straw's "tarting" himself (Mr Blair's word) to Gordon Brown in recent months.
The same goes for Ruth Kelly, who has been banished from education to "communities and local government". The hapless Patricia Hewitt, meanwhile, has survived at health purely because she is loyal; and Mr Blair has in the new Defra secretary, David Miliband, a loyalist of the first stamp.
Add Alan Johnson and John Reid as captains of the guard, and the Prime Minister has collected about him a phalanx of men and women who will keep him safe.
But Mr Blair must go sometime, and the current surviving and promoted ministers must be looking askance at their good fortune. For this was such a nakedly political reshuffle that its beneficiaries are identified automatically as the ancien régime. Charles Clarke, perhaps, will be the biggest gainer in the long term: he was sacked by Mr Blair, and already Mr Brown has hinted that he will bring him back.
When will that be? MPs are said to be collecting signatures for a letter to the Prime Minister calling for a "timetable" for his departure. Although we share the wish to see the back of Mr Blair, this is an absurd suggestion, and he is surely right to refuse it. He will go, when he goes, suddenly - either at the moment of his own choosing or because he is forced out.
Mr Brown, the one man Mr Blair could not sack from his Cabinet, could, if he wished, precipitate a leadership contest at any moment by the simple expedient of resigning.
His curious reluctance to launch an assassination attempt owes a little, no doubt, to common decency; a lot more to his fear that such aggressive and selfish behaviour would alienate moderate opinion in the country; and most of all to the wish not to inherit a divided and embittered party.
But, in the end, events may be decided without Mr Brown having to lift a finger. The Parliamentary Labour Party rightly feels the reshuffle was an insult to them. Many hold to the belief that Mr Blair's departure will cause a boost to Labour's poll rating.
A direct confrontation between the back benches and Number 10, sometime before the party conference in October, is now more likely than not. Mr Blair's sweaty and tetchy performance at his press conference yesterday morning suggests he knows it.
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Telegraph, Speakers Corner, 8 May 06
What is the point of Blair hanging on to power? Should the prime minister quit now to defuse the war that’s ripping New Labour apart? Or would his departure lead to the return of Old Labour’s tax-and-spend habits?
What is the point of Blair hanging on to power? Should the prime minister quit now to defuse the war that’s ripping New Labour apart? Or would his departure lead to the return of Old Labour’s tax-and-spend habits?
The point? To us, none. To the country, none. To the Labour Party, none. The fact that he continues to do so, despite the overwhelming concensus not to, shows his total disregard for anyone else's opinion - not least those in his own party. One would hope - kindly - that it's simple delusion, but more likely it's a callous and selfish attempt to pillage the country a little longer before making his home in George Bush's backyard, and paying off his cronies at the tax payer's expense.
Posted by Robert on May 8, 2006 6:55 AM
"return of Old Labour’s tax-and-spend habits?"...did they ever go away?
Posted by Seb on May 8, 2006 8:03 AM
Posted by Robert on May 8, 2006 6:55 AM
"return of Old Labour’s tax-and-spend habits?"...did they ever go away?
Posted by Seb on May 8, 2006 8:03 AM
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It would seem that our dear Prime Minister’s travails continue.
Labour: now a crisis of faith
Public believe Tories would be better for health, education and law and order
The Guardian ,Julian Glover, Wednesday May 24, 2006
Labour: now a crisis of faith
Public believe Tories would be better for health, education and law and order
The Guardian ,Julian Glover, Wednesday May 24, 2006
Public faith in Labour's ability to deliver on its core promises is collapsing across the board, with the Conservatives pulling ahead as the party with the best policies on a range of issues including health and education, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today.
The findings suggest the base of support that gave Labour three comprehensive election victories has been badly eroded by difficulties in the NHS and the Home Office and by the Conservative party's renewal under David Cameron.
The worrying picture for Labour is confirmed by a four-point rise in Tory support to 38%, the party's highest rating in 13 years, matched only during the fuel protests of 2000.
In a sign that Labour may be losing support among women voters, the poll found they are more likely than men to support Conservative policies on health, education and the economy. Although the difference is small, it is a sign that Mr Cameron's rebranding of Tory priorities is making a difference. Women were more likely than men to vote Labour in the last three general elections.
This rapid change in attitudes comes as Labour debates the best route to rebuilding voters' trust. The chancellor, Gordon Brown, has spoken repeatedly of the need for "renewal", which many see as a coded reference to a rapid change of leader.
But today's poll suggests that although voters rate Mr Brown ahead of Mr Blair on many key characteristics, including trust, competence and honesty, a switch of leaders would not automatically boost Labour support.
Labour voters - unlike the wider electorate - rate Mr Blair more highly than the chancellor as someone with wide appeal, someone prepared to take a stand on difficult issues, and someone more likely to make them vote Labour. Their caution may simply reflect loyalty to a prime minister they helped re-elect just over a year ago. But it is reflected by a possible drop in Labour support in a general election with Mr Brown as leader.
The findings suggest the base of support that gave Labour three comprehensive election victories has been badly eroded by difficulties in the NHS and the Home Office and by the Conservative party's renewal under David Cameron.
The worrying picture for Labour is confirmed by a four-point rise in Tory support to 38%, the party's highest rating in 13 years, matched only during the fuel protests of 2000.
In a sign that Labour may be losing support among women voters, the poll found they are more likely than men to support Conservative policies on health, education and the economy. Although the difference is small, it is a sign that Mr Cameron's rebranding of Tory priorities is making a difference. Women were more likely than men to vote Labour in the last three general elections.
This rapid change in attitudes comes as Labour debates the best route to rebuilding voters' trust. The chancellor, Gordon Brown, has spoken repeatedly of the need for "renewal", which many see as a coded reference to a rapid change of leader.
But today's poll suggests that although voters rate Mr Brown ahead of Mr Blair on many key characteristics, including trust, competence and honesty, a switch of leaders would not automatically boost Labour support.
Labour voters - unlike the wider electorate - rate Mr Blair more highly than the chancellor as someone with wide appeal, someone prepared to take a stand on difficult issues, and someone more likely to make them vote Labour. Their caution may simply reflect loyalty to a prime minister they helped re-elect just over a year ago. But it is reflected by a possible drop in Labour support in a general election with Mr Brown as leader.
Last edited by highcirrus; 24th May 2006 at 12:31.
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Tories six points ahead as scandals rock Blair
Daily Telegraph, George Jones Political Editor, Filed: 26/05/2006
Daily Telegraph, George Jones Political Editor, Filed: 26/05/2006
The Conservatives are experiencing their most sustained electoral recovery for more than 14 years as public confidence in the competence of Tony Blair's government plummets, according to a YouGov poll published in The Daily Telegraph today.
After a string of Government blunders and scandals culminating in near meltdown at the Home Office this week, the Tories have opened a six-point lead over Labour - their largest advantage since before John Major's win in the 1992 general election.
The poll shows Mr Blair's government limping into a 10-day Whitsun Commons recess with 67 per cent of voters believing it gives the impression of being "a floundering regime".
The recovery in Tory fortunes after three bruising election defeats at the hands of Mr Blair is reinforced by signs that under David Cameron the party is catching up or even overtaking Labour on its home ground policy issues, such as pensions, education and the health service.
After a string of Government blunders and scandals culminating in near meltdown at the Home Office this week, the Tories have opened a six-point lead over Labour - their largest advantage since before John Major's win in the 1992 general election.
The poll shows Mr Blair's government limping into a 10-day Whitsun Commons recess with 67 per cent of voters believing it gives the impression of being "a floundering regime".
The recovery in Tory fortunes after three bruising election defeats at the hands of Mr Blair is reinforced by signs that under David Cameron the party is catching up or even overtaking Labour on its home ground policy issues, such as pensions, education and the health service.
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Prescott's survival hopes recede as MPs speak out
Michael White
Tuesday May 30, 2006, The Guardian
Michael White
Tuesday May 30, 2006, The Guardian
Labour hopes of saving John Prescott's position as deputy prime minister receded yesterday as more backbench MPs publicly voiced the private fears of colleagues that further waves of embarrassing publicity would sink Mr Prescott - and could eventually take Tony Blair with him.
The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and Hilary Benn, the international development secretary, rallied to Mr Prescott's defence yesterday, leaving condemnation of his recent conduct to jittery backbenchers with marginal seats.
Britain's European trade commissioner and longstanding Blair ally, Peter Mandelson, was more ambiguous. He told Radio 4's Today programme: "All I would say about John is that he is a party man to his fingertips and whatever he does, he will do what is in the party's interests, I'm sure, and not his own." But suggestions that those words were a hint to his old rival to step down were denied, leaving Labour MPs such as Michael Jabez Foster, Derek Wyatt and Christine McCafferty, who all hold marginal seats, to link Mr Prescott's affair with a junior staff member, Tracey Temple, to falling Labour support, especially among women.
Neither Mr Blair nor Gordon Brown want to lose Mr Prescott. He is both a buffer between them and Labour's deputy leader. A vacancy for his job would trigger a divisive election that both are keen to avoid.
Labour's constitutional experts say the party's rules mean that the elected leader and deputy leader must both be in the cabinet. But the former minister Lord Whitty, who wrote the rules, will give colleagues a possible loophole.
The rules are ambiguous on whether the deputy leader has to remain in the cabinet, Lord Whitty is telling colleagues. That might allow Mr Prescott to retire from the government - he is 68 tomorrow - but remain as deputy leader, a compromise which many mainstream MPs would now support.
Unease in Labour's ranks about Mr Prescott's vulnerability has grown since the May 6 reshuffle which deprived him of his departmental responsibilities, but not the ministerial component of his £133,000 salary, titles or perks like Dorneywood, his weekend home. That was where he was photographed playing croquet on Thursday. In Mr Blair's absence, he was acting prime minister.
The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and Hilary Benn, the international development secretary, rallied to Mr Prescott's defence yesterday, leaving condemnation of his recent conduct to jittery backbenchers with marginal seats.
Britain's European trade commissioner and longstanding Blair ally, Peter Mandelson, was more ambiguous. He told Radio 4's Today programme: "All I would say about John is that he is a party man to his fingertips and whatever he does, he will do what is in the party's interests, I'm sure, and not his own." But suggestions that those words were a hint to his old rival to step down were denied, leaving Labour MPs such as Michael Jabez Foster, Derek Wyatt and Christine McCafferty, who all hold marginal seats, to link Mr Prescott's affair with a junior staff member, Tracey Temple, to falling Labour support, especially among women.
Neither Mr Blair nor Gordon Brown want to lose Mr Prescott. He is both a buffer between them and Labour's deputy leader. A vacancy for his job would trigger a divisive election that both are keen to avoid.
Labour's constitutional experts say the party's rules mean that the elected leader and deputy leader must both be in the cabinet. But the former minister Lord Whitty, who wrote the rules, will give colleagues a possible loophole.
The rules are ambiguous on whether the deputy leader has to remain in the cabinet, Lord Whitty is telling colleagues. That might allow Mr Prescott to retire from the government - he is 68 tomorrow - but remain as deputy leader, a compromise which many mainstream MPs would now support.
Unease in Labour's ranks about Mr Prescott's vulnerability has grown since the May 6 reshuffle which deprived him of his departmental responsibilities, but not the ministerial component of his £133,000 salary, titles or perks like Dorneywood, his weekend home. That was where he was photographed playing croquet on Thursday. In Mr Blair's absence, he was acting prime minister.
Avoid imitations
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Good cartoon - I sincerely the mallet handle is where it ought to be!
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If this isn’t a Meltdown, what is?
Whitehall farce
Daily Telegraph, Toby Helm, Graeme Wilson and Brendan Carlin 31/05/2006
Daily Telegraph, Toby Helm, Graeme Wilson and Brendan Carlin 31/05/2006
Ministers were struggling last night to prevent a collapse of morale at the highest levels of the Government and the Civil Service as flagship New Labour policies on the health service, criminal justice and the benefits system were shown to be in crisis.
A sense of disarray across Whitehall grew when the most senior judge, Lord Phillips, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, highlighted the failure of community sentencing and the resulting overcrowding of prisons.
Civil servants, battered by successive crises in the Home Office and claims by John Reid, the Home Secretary, that his immigration department was "not fit for purpose", expressed private worries that ministers were "losing their grip".
On a day of unrelenting bad news for the Government, it was also revealed that:
• A computer system for storing the medical records of all 50 million health service patients will be more than two years late and three times over budget at £20 billion.
• The amount of taxpayers' money wasted through public sector fraud and mismanagement, including pension payments to the deceased and benefit handouts to failed asylum seekers, has shot up by 33 per cent in two years.
• Tax credits have been overpaid by about £2 billion for the second year running.
Senior civil servants claim privately that ministers are increasingly cutting them adrift as they try to deflect blame for their failures of leadership on to the Whitehall machine that serves them.
The Conservatives sought to exploit the sense of a "rudderless" and chaotic Government by focusing their attacks on John Prescott, the beleaguered Deputy Prime Minister, who is standing in for Mr Blair while he is on holiday in Italy (fiddling while Rome burns?).
As more Labour MPs said publicly that Mr Prescott had become "a laughing stock" and should quit his £133,000-a-year post, the Conservatives suggested that he had encouraged his former lover to breach guidance on good behaviour for civil servants during their two-year affair.
A sense of disarray across Whitehall grew when the most senior judge, Lord Phillips, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, highlighted the failure of community sentencing and the resulting overcrowding of prisons.
Civil servants, battered by successive crises in the Home Office and claims by John Reid, the Home Secretary, that his immigration department was "not fit for purpose", expressed private worries that ministers were "losing their grip".
On a day of unrelenting bad news for the Government, it was also revealed that:
• A computer system for storing the medical records of all 50 million health service patients will be more than two years late and three times over budget at £20 billion.
• The amount of taxpayers' money wasted through public sector fraud and mismanagement, including pension payments to the deceased and benefit handouts to failed asylum seekers, has shot up by 33 per cent in two years.
• Tax credits have been overpaid by about £2 billion for the second year running.
Senior civil servants claim privately that ministers are increasingly cutting them adrift as they try to deflect blame for their failures of leadership on to the Whitehall machine that serves them.
The Conservatives sought to exploit the sense of a "rudderless" and chaotic Government by focusing their attacks on John Prescott, the beleaguered Deputy Prime Minister, who is standing in for Mr Blair while he is on holiday in Italy (fiddling while Rome burns?).
As more Labour MPs said publicly that Mr Prescott had become "a laughing stock" and should quit his £133,000-a-year post, the Conservatives suggested that he had encouraged his former lover to breach guidance on good behaviour for civil servants during their two-year affair.
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Number Crunching …. Acknowledgments to Private Eye
Interesting to note that the three times cost overrun on the NHS computer system can be insouciantly funded to the tune of £20 billion but there seems to be a major problem funding the fitting of ESF to the UK C130 Hercules fleet at a cost of approx £20 thousand per aircraft.
Joined up government?
Interesting to note that the three times cost overrun on the NHS computer system can be insouciantly funded to the tune of £20 billion but there seems to be a major problem funding the fitting of ESF to the UK C130 Hercules fleet at a cost of approx £20 thousand per aircraft.
Joined up government?
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BLIAR and Bush
That special relationship!
Click the link: to load the video, click the go arrow centre screen. Downloads fast and the video runs for 76 secs. Good PC skills!
http://www.youtube.com/v/zZlxdqeHa64
TG
Click the link: to load the video, click the go arrow centre screen. Downloads fast and the video runs for 76 secs. Good PC skills!
http://www.youtube.com/v/zZlxdqeHa64
TG
Stafford,
Worry not, I’m here!
Blair in melt down? Labour in trouble?
I THINK NOT
Let’s look at what is actually happening. The PM has been in power for 9 years, he has adopted a management style which is alienating the cabinet and infuriating the back benches, he has lost the confidence of the electorate, he ordered the invasion of Iraq with the US in the most dubious of circumstances and the subsequent occupation has merely brought terrorism to the streets of London, the Home Office appears to be imploding, scandals are rocking cabinet and ex-cabinet ministers. The health service appears to be in a financial turmoil with jobs going and wards closing, minister after minister is avoiding responsibility, child tax credits are over paid to the tune of £2B for the second year running, etc etc etc etc…………………
In the face of all the above, what is the best that HM Loyal opposition can muster? A total repeat of Blairs tactics and strategy prior to the 97 election, a fumbling and ineffective performance at PM’s questions and a 6 point lead in the polls!
At the equivalent stage of the declining Tory administration with Major in charge Labour were 55 points ahead in the polls, FIFTY FIVE points!
David (Tony Blair) Cameron is the reason Blair in particular and Labour in general are about as near meltdown as you are lot in enthusiastically endorsing JPA!
pr00ne
Worry not, I’m here!
Blair in melt down? Labour in trouble?
I THINK NOT
Let’s look at what is actually happening. The PM has been in power for 9 years, he has adopted a management style which is alienating the cabinet and infuriating the back benches, he has lost the confidence of the electorate, he ordered the invasion of Iraq with the US in the most dubious of circumstances and the subsequent occupation has merely brought terrorism to the streets of London, the Home Office appears to be imploding, scandals are rocking cabinet and ex-cabinet ministers. The health service appears to be in a financial turmoil with jobs going and wards closing, minister after minister is avoiding responsibility, child tax credits are over paid to the tune of £2B for the second year running, etc etc etc etc…………………
In the face of all the above, what is the best that HM Loyal opposition can muster? A total repeat of Blairs tactics and strategy prior to the 97 election, a fumbling and ineffective performance at PM’s questions and a 6 point lead in the polls!
At the equivalent stage of the declining Tory administration with Major in charge Labour were 55 points ahead in the polls, FIFTY FIVE points!
David (Tony Blair) Cameron is the reason Blair in particular and Labour in general are about as near meltdown as you are lot in enthusiastically endorsing JPA!
pr00ne
Sadly, Proone is right IMHO. There is NO effective opposition. You cannot get a fag paper between New Conservative and New labour. If the Tories get in then we will have 2 years of 'It isn't our fault', 'Give us time' and other fumblings as they grapple with real Government. If they were doing something different, something radical, then no problem, it would be worth the hassle for the light at the end of the tunnel. But as all we will get is more of the same, why change horses? Labour is as safe as houses until we get someone who will truly oppose and change direction noticeably.
the lot of them.
the lot of them.
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Biggest problem for Tories is how to win seats in Northern cities. Difficult to see Cameron making headway with his lightweight approach. My money is on a hung parliament. Popular vote to the Tories, intriguing possibility of Tory/LibDem alliance!! Anyone give me any odds on that?
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Midlothian Question
I would say the biggest problem for the Tories is the fact they actually won the last election (in England), because our Welsh & Scottish friends get to vote for their own as well as our MPs. These are the same regions of the UK that "receive higher levels of public spending than former communist countries";
We should be sickened that England is being governed by an unelected power which is transferring funds to its bordering neighbours... Oh and guess what, if an English student applies to a Scottish university he/she'll pay £3000 fees, whilst a student from ANY OTHER EU COUNTRY will pay the lower, Scottish, rate ~ £1000. Even though the university is being funded mainly through English taxation!
The Sunday Times May 28, 2006 Britain's northern 'soviets' swell on Brown handouts
The “sovietisation” of parts of Britain as a result of Brown’s huge increases in public spending looks even more dramatic when the figures are adjusted for comparison with other countries. On this basis, public spending is equivalent to 76.2% of the size of the Northern Ireland economy this year, 66.2% in Wales, 64.9% in the northeast, 57.7% in Scotland and 56.1% in the northwest.
This compares with 56.1% in high-spending Sweden, 54.1% in France, 51.9% in former communist Hungary, 51.5% in Denmark, 46% in Germany, 42.6% in the Czech Republic, 41.2% in Poland and 36.3% in Slovakia.
Sir Digby Jones, director- general of the CBI, the employers’ organisation, said that he was increasingly concerned about the “crowding out” of the private sector by a rapidly expanding public sector. “I’m very, very worried about this,” he said. “The private sector is responsible for around 62% of GDP in China — a communist, totalitarian regime.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Midlothian_Question
We should be sickened that England is being governed by an unelected power which is transferring funds to its bordering neighbours... Oh and guess what, if an English student applies to a Scottish university he/she'll pay £3000 fees, whilst a student from ANY OTHER EU COUNTRY will pay the lower, Scottish, rate ~ £1000. Even though the university is being funded mainly through English taxation!
The Sunday Times May 28, 2006 Britain's northern 'soviets' swell on Brown handouts
The “sovietisation” of parts of Britain as a result of Brown’s huge increases in public spending looks even more dramatic when the figures are adjusted for comparison with other countries. On this basis, public spending is equivalent to 76.2% of the size of the Northern Ireland economy this year, 66.2% in Wales, 64.9% in the northeast, 57.7% in Scotland and 56.1% in the northwest.
This compares with 56.1% in high-spending Sweden, 54.1% in France, 51.9% in former communist Hungary, 51.5% in Denmark, 46% in Germany, 42.6% in the Czech Republic, 41.2% in Poland and 36.3% in Slovakia.
Sir Digby Jones, director- general of the CBI, the employers’ organisation, said that he was increasingly concerned about the “crowding out” of the private sector by a rapidly expanding public sector. “I’m very, very worried about this,” he said. “The private sector is responsible for around 62% of GDP in China — a communist, totalitarian regime.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Midlothian_Question