Britannia Radio

THE SUN   22.9.08
We'll all pay for PM cheating on Prudence
By TREVOR KAVANAGH

WHAT’S the difference between the mission to save the global economy 
and attempts to shore up Gordon Brown?

In both cases, big guns are pooling all the resources at their 
disposal to rescue a shattered but revered institution — capitalism 
in the City and the Labour Party in Manchester.

On the money markets, eye-bleeding sums of your money are being 
poured into endangered banks and pension giants.

Here at the Labour Party conference, slightly more dog-eared credit 
is being mobilised to save Gordon Brown.

Cabinet ministers, some of them sworn enemies of the Prime Minister, 
are lying through gritted teeth in his support.
They are ready to pretend the corpse in Labour’s shop window is still 
alive and kicking.

As a result, shares in both Gordon and the City have risen, with some 
optimists predicting the worst is over.

Looming
More likely, both recoveries are little more than a “dead cat bounce”.

Stock market celebrations may yet turn into a wake. Gordon is already 
a dead man walking.

Three out of four voters have abandoned all hope that their Prime 
Minister — or the Labour Party — can sort out the economy.

A new poll suggests Labour face annihilation in the looming 
Glenrothes by-election.

Another predicts a Tory landslide whenever a general election is held.
Ministers will do anything to avoid a public execution in Manchester 
this week, but they won’t wait long after Glenrothes.

Mr Brown hopes something will turn up, but rival David Miliband has 
made it clear in weekend magazine interviews that he is still after 
his job. [AND today’s Standard publishes a “leaked” list of 
Milliband;’s first cabinet!  -cs]
And laughing postman Alan Johnson made that prospect even more likely 
by ruling himself out and offering to be Miliband’s running mate.

Panicking Labour MPs will see that alliance as a way of saving a few 
dozen scalps in marginal seats.

Mr Miliband is beginning to show he has the steel and, perhaps more 
importantly, the guile to trip Gordon up.

Meanwhile, the PM is hoping to turn the economic crisis into a stay 
of execution.   He’s the tough ex-Chancellor voters can rely on to 
keep them safe.
The trouble is that, as Chancellor, Gordon ran the economy in much 
the same way as the bosses of troubled companies such as HBOS and 
Northern Rock.

While preaching “prudence”, he doubled spending and borrowed like 
there was no tomorrow.

He kept billions off the books by using costly and badly negotiated 
“Private Finance Initiatives” to build hospitals and schools.

That piled an extra £150BILLION on to State borrowing — taking the 
total to 45 per cent of national earnings.

And add on another £1,300billion in unfunded public sector borrowing 
— and £1,000billion in private borrowing for mortgages, credit cards 
and overdrafts.

That lot works out at around £2,500billion — or £40,000 of debt for 
every man, woman and child in Britain, now and for years to come.

Meanwhile, our savings have plummeted to about 2p in the Pound — the 
lowest since World War II — so there is nothing left for the rain 
already coming in through the broken roof.

Mr Brown blames America for the global economic crisis. But none of 
this came out of a clear blue sky.

Even I knew a year ago we were in trouble, and regular readers may 
remember me saying so.

I revealed that one of the merchant banks that went bust last week 
had warned executives not to talk about the impending catastrophe — 
even to each other.

I was also told wildly irresponsible lending by HBOS — parent to the 
Halifax — had been worrying senior executives for years.

If I knew this, so did the most powerful Chancellor in living memory.

Alistair Darling was so horrified by what he found at the Treasury, 
he blurted out that we face the biggest financial crisis in 60 years.
The question is... Why didn’t the Chancellor and Prime Minister who 
preached prudence and promised no more boom and bust do anything to 
stop it?

WHY on earth was slippery Labour MP Keith Vaz ever put in charge of 
the powerful Commons Home Affairs Committee?

And why hasn’t he been sacked over incontrovertible proof that he 
abused his position to try to pervert the course of justice?

Vaz, justly known as “Vaseline”, used trumped-up racism claims to try 
to save a shyster Iranian lawyer from bankruptcy.

He made the mistake of writing directly to an incorruptible judge. As 
long as he remains in his job, Labour is doomed.
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THE TIMES   22.9.08
Advice for Gordon Brown's Labour conference speech: be bold

    Chris Roycroft-Davis: Analysis

There is one golden rule in a crisis: work out what people want to 
hear and make sure you tell it to them. That’s a problem, Gordon, 
because a lot of people tomorrow want to hear you say that you’re 
standing down. So defending yourself by talking about your strengths 
won’t work. Your reality is not your critics’ reality; they don’t see 
your record as a positive.

This is like no other speech you’ve made. The words matter, but more 
than ever people will be influenced by how you look and sound. Be 
bold. Be someone they’re not expecting. Stop using the dour, robotic 
bank manager act and show us a new Gordon Brown, human and with 
emotions.

You’ve got to get the audience on your side from the start. So if 
you’ve got a good point to make, start with it. Then count to ten, as 
it sinks in. Silence is powerful. You’ll connect if you ditch two 
props: the podium and your notes. A lectern says that you need 
something to hide behind; using notes says that you’re not speaking 
from the heart.

I know that your artificial eye makes it hard for you to use an 
autocue. But if a speaker is at one with the message, it should flow 
naturally. Address the conference – and the nation – as if it’s a one-
to-one conversation and you’ll ooze self-confidence and leadership.

Your body language must be open. Stand tall, shoulders back, don’t be 
afraid to take up space. Look the part, even if you don’t feel it.

Two final tips: Don’t gabble. And smile. Good luck.