THE SUN
Give us what we all want, Gord
By TREVOR KAVANAGH
9.3.09
IT’S bad enough when senior Cabinet ministers line up to tell Gordon
Brown to say sorry. It’s worse when his instructions to stop
leaking such hurtful stories are plastered all over the following
day’s papers. But when ex-minister Peter Hain pops up with helpful
advice on winning an election, Gordon must surely know Labour are
doomed.
His stricken, rudderless Government is falling apart at the seams and
heading for oblivion. Half the Cabinet could end up as ex-MPs. We
may be about to witness the total eclipse of a domineering political
clique after 13 years of unbridled power. For the surviving rump,
the only question is who will lead once Gordon is gone.
Those jostling to succeed are outnumbered only by others trying to
ensure they are on the side of the winner. Brazen Harriet Harman was
first out of the traps and there can’t be a political journalist in
the land who isn’t silently muttering, “Go, Hattie, go!” If this
really is “her moment”, we’ll never be short of a juicy story from
the Hattie House of Horrors.
Never willingly undersold, she has even begun describing herself as
Deputy Prime Minister, perhaps hoping to convey an aura of
entitlement. Sadly, a new poll shows she is as unpopular with her own
party as she deserves to be. But Harriet has tapped into a resurgence
of the Labour Left, where her views on “wimmin” and “social justice”
strike a chord.
With Tony Blair’s champagne socialism leaving a sour taste, there is
a growing appetite for the real thing. The fight for the leadership
will be a titanic struggle between Old and New Labour.
Crisis
Which explains why Mr Hain, who has carefully straddled the dividing
lines, is pitching for support among unions and party activists.
For this wing of the party New Labour is dead, entombed by the crisis
of capitalism. As unemployment soars in the coming year, that mood
will darken — assisted by Lord Mandelson’s courageous bid to sell off
Royal Mail.
If Gordon won’t shoulder any blame, there are plenty of jobless
Labour voters who will do it for him. Their first chance to let off
steam will come with the EU elections in June.
There are plenty of live issues in this contest, not least the
possible collapse of basket cases such as Portugal, Italy, Greece and
Spain — the PIGS. Along with Ireland and others, they have been
knocked sideways by the slump and now risk being crushed by debt.
Many are locked into the one-size-fits-all Euro straitjacket or
crippled by their own worthless currencies.
At any other time Mr Brown could trumpet his one indisputable triumph
— keeping Britain out of the Euro. But with the Pound on its knees
there will be precious little gratitude for that.
Flying home from Washington last week, the PM turned on journalists
who asked him to apologise for his part in the Great Recession. But
once Gordon started saying sorry, where would he stop?
=Would he apologise for turning Britain into a giant welfare state,
with 12million adults dependent on taxpayers, either for their salary
or benefit?
=Is he sorry for opening the door to millions of unchecked migrants
now in cut-throat competition for British jobs?
=Is he sorry for selling off our gold at rock-bottom prices and
wrecking private pension savings while bloating the public sector’s.
=Will he apologise for refusing to build nuclear power stations? Or
new prisons to hold those dangerous criminals now roaming free?
=Does he regret the failure of schools to educate our youngsters
properly for the tough times ahead?
No. After 12 years in charge, he can’t say sorry. That would be to
confess Labour has misspent more than a decade in power.
Yes, I know. But once Gordon put his hands up, the only honest
course of action would be to call an immediate election.
Kicking out this tired, tatty Government is precisely what Britain
needs. And it is precisely why Gordon won’t give us the chance.
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