Yesterday I put out a speculative piece about HMQ dissolving
parliament. I don't believe that is remotely likely but what she can
do is to summon him privately and quite constitutionally "offer her
advice" that he should request a dissolution. He's too much of a
mental case to take that advice but history will get to learn the
truth and he will be reviled in all the histories written about the
most calamitous 13 years of our history since the civil war some 350
years ago.
Meanwhile Simon Heffer makes a good job of putting the boot in and,
as I now see, makes that very point at the end.
Most commentators elsewhere are just as apocalyptic Even Polly
Toynbee in the Guardian writes Brown off and produces a good dig at
alan Johnson in the role of successor - "an Alan Johnson waiting for
others to hand it to him on a silver salver"
But the country, quite literally, cannot afford to let Brown limp on
for another 11 months. Quite apart from the damage this would do to
parliament, the economy is - again literally - living on borrowed
time. This has to stop NOW and the public must ready themselves for
the inevitable big cuts in government spending. If not we will be
ruined.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx cs
============================
Watching an embalmed-looking and robotic-sounding Gordon Brown giving
his press conference, one recognised one of the failings of our
otherwise revered constitution: that it places no bar on a man who
has taken leave of his senses still holding Her Majesty's commission
as first minister. No government has had so bad a day since Black
Wednesday, 17 years ago; and let us not forget the revenge the
country took for that.
What is happening now makes John Major's government look like a
triumph. We do not need to rehearse here the litany of disasters
affecting Mr Brown and his administration, but let us anyway: the
haemorrhaging of cabinet ministers, the demands from backbenchers
that he go, the withering contempt of former colleagues, the abuse
from the feminist "sisterhood", the inability to handle the expenses
scandal, the shattered wreck of the British economy, the botched
reshuffle, a backbencher walking out and forcing a by-election, a
slaughter in the local elections and, on Sunday, the possibility of
Labour's being beaten by both the Lib Dems and Ukip.
How much more proof of his utter unsuitability to lead a party or a
government does Mr Brown need And, now the momentum has started, how
much more encouragement does his party need to boot him out, and to
live up to their rhetoric of doing what is right for the country [All
ministers' rhetoric is about the 'party' rather than the
'country'. We are a nation not a one-party state like the Soviet
Union or the Nazis -cs]
For most people in Mr Brown's position, just watching a recording of
their own press conference would be enough to make them reach for the
revolver and the bottle of Scotch. But Mr Brown isn't most people. He
is never wrong - or at least, despite his hints about mistakes - can
never admit he is, even to himself. Mistakes are things inevitably
made by others. He has an entourage of oiling and greasing cronies,
many of them mediocrities powered by rampant ambition, some of whom
prospered in the reshuffle. Those who offer differing opinions are
reviled, humiliated, and see the rough side of Mr Brown's
occasionally infantile personality. That is why several politicians
can no longer bear to work for him. However bad the public find him,
the reality is even worse.
Labour has one chance of avoiding epic defeat in the general
election, and that is to be rid of Mr Brown and have his successor
call the poll for early October. The obvious replacement is Alan
Johnson, who is reasonable, modest, honest, capable and a superb
communicator. The Conservative Party does not want him, which should
be the final proof to Labour that they need him. The reshuffle was
one of the most disastrous in modern political history: if it was
meant to relaunch the Government, it failed in every respect. Things
can only get worse.
Mr Brown had to change his mind about sacking his Chancellor. He had
to admit he was so weak that he could not promote his thoroughly
unlovely boot-boy, Ed Balls, to the position. He had to put yet
another minister from the Lords into the Cabinet because of the
shortage in the Commons of able people willing to take a poisoned
chalice. He had to readmit to the Cabinet a man, Peter Hain, who had
been in disgrace for failing to register a mere £100,000 of donations
to his deputy leadership campaign. [If you watched Hain on Newsnight
last night you could see a man suffering total exhaustion and who
hadn't got the first clue of what he was talking about - especially
the economic crisis -cs] And it is the ultimate measure of his
impotence that he depends upon a twice-disgraced former dodgy
mortgagor, Lord Rumba of Rio, as his main apologist.
Hardly a soul in Britain does not know the game is up. We must only
hope that the butchery at the Euro-polls that will be apparent by
Monday brings Labour to its senses, even if Mr Brown has taken leave
of his. If not, the Queen has a perfect constitutional right to warn
him he is carrying on her Government in a way that can only harm the
country. If Mr Brown's backbenchers don't realise their duty, let us
hope the Sovereign, in all her wisdom, will not shirk from hers.
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