Over to Our Taiwanese Correspondent for More on Bullying
Iain Dale 9:29 AM
Wait until 35 seconds in and you will see what a laughing stock Gordon Brown has become. Taiwanese TV has dramatised Gordon's temper tantrums.
Hattip Dizzy Thinks
How to Cope With a Bullying Prescott
Iain Dale 7:38 AM
This is from Mary Ann Sieghart's column in today's Times. I think it is fair to say that John Prescott got more than he bargained for.
It's not every day that the Deputy Prime Minister announces himself to you as a buffoon. This was just weeks after the 7/7 terrorist attacks and John Prescott was - supposedly - running the country while Tony Blair was away. I had written a column headlined “Prezza the buffoon should simply not be left in charge”, which asked why we indulged him when he was so blisteringly incompetent.
The next day, my phone rang. “I have the Deputy Prime Minister for you,” said a female voice. “It's your buffoon here,” came a more familiar male one. He harangued me for half an hour, saying that what I'd written was “bloody disgraceful” and that I was just a snob. “I'm crap at syntax,” he conceded finally. “I don't even know what the word means.” Then he demanded that I come in and see him.
That turned into the encounter that Prescott referred to on Tuesday in his Radio 4 On the Ropes interview with John Humphrys. I haven't written about it before, because I respected Prescott's right to talk to me off the record. Now that he has brought it up himself, though, I can at last tell the tale.
Signing in at Admiralty House, I heard a click-clack on the marble floor behind me. It was Prescott. I turned round to greet him, but he sailed past, saying gruffly to the security man, “She's with me”. At the lift I caught up with him, smiled and put out my hand, as you do. He scowled and refused to shake it.
He took me up to his vast office and let me stew there for 15 minutes until he came back with a couple of lackeys and a briefing file on me an inch thick. I knew his people had been asking questions about me. In a voluntary capacity, I was then vice-chair of a local regeneration programme, North Fulham NDC, which came under his department. A very senior official had e-mailed the programme director asking how committed I was, what decisions I had taken, which projects I had opposed. Prescott was clearly looking for ammo.
He launched into a tirade. His face reddened, his finger jabbed, he held up dog-eared pamphlets that he had written in the 1980s which apparently proved that he had a good brain. He boasted about his achievements in transport and local government, some of which I disputed. Once he began on regeneration, I asked whether he had managed to dig any dirt up about me on the NDC. “I don't know what you're talking about,” he blustered.
“I think you do,” I retorted. “Your officials have been asking questions about me and you've got a chapter heading there on your briefing pack: ‘Mary Ann Sieghart's involvement with North Fulham NDC'.”
Luckily it was close enough for me to read upside down. Caught red-handed, he pretended not to be able to find the right page. More bragging followed, until he demanded: “So admit it. You were wrong about me.” Given his emotional state, I thought it wise to be diplomatic. I said I was glad to have had the chance to hear his side of the story. “Why don't we leave it at that?” I suggested.
“No,” he said. “I want you to admit that you're wrong.” He was determined to bully me, and I was determined to resist.
“I'm not prepared to,” I replied. “I'm afraid you haven't persuaded me.”
“Right then,” he shouted. “I want you to justify every single word you wrote.”
“Are you quite sure?” I checked. This was going to be embarrassing. So I took a deep breath and began. “Well, you punched a voter and you stuck two fingers up in Downing Street. That shows that you lose your rag too easily - as evidenced today, in fact.”
“AS EVIDENCED TODAY?” he bellowed, his face by now beetroot, his fists clenched.
“Yes, I've been talking perfectly calmly while you've been shouting and jabbing your finger at me. I don't think that's appropriate behaviour in a Deputy Prime Minister.”
My column had gone on to disparage his performance at Prime Minister's Questions. “I know PMQs are very hard,” I admitted. “I'd be useless at them. But then I'm not Deputy Prime Minister and you are.”
The final straw was his inability to string a sentence together. “I've not had the fine education you had,” was his justification. “You're just a snob.”
“I'm not,” I retorted. “I have no problem with Alan Johnson or John Reid or David Blunkett. They all come from disadvantaged backgrounds, they didn't go to private schools and they still manage to articulate what they want to say. It's nothing to do with snobbery and nothing to do with your education.” If a man couldn't speak clearly, I said, it was a sign that he couldn't think clearly either.
That was when he finally lost it. “So what you're saying is I'm too thick to be Deputy Prime Minister?” he yelled at me.
His two apparatchiks stiffened. “Well, yes, I guess I am,” I said in a small voice.
On the pavement outside, I found myself shaking. I couldn't believe what I had just said to Prescott, but nor could I believe how bullyingly he had behaved.
He, meanwhile, raced off to No 10 to see Blair. I later heard that he said, “I've just had that Mary Ann Sieghart in”, to which Blair replied, “That's nice”. “No it wasn't,” said Prescott, still furious. “She told me I was too thick to be Deputy Prime Minister.” Blair did the worst possible thing and laughed. “Well, she's not the only one who thinks that,” he chuckled.
Oh well, at least he didn't hit her. Or try to [that's enough - ed]
Three Days Ahead of the BBC & Sky
Iain Dale 7:55 PM
Three days later, the BBC managed to catch up...
And a few hours later, Sky got around to it too...
Iain Dale's Diary: It's because of the unique way I'm funded. By myself.
Why Won't the Lobby Expose Mandelson's Duplicity?
Iain Dale 6:34 PM
All day yesterday and today, Peter Mandelson has toured the studios telling us all that Gordon Brown is sweet, innocent and wouldn't recognise the word bully if you spelled it out to him. This is the very same Peter Mandelson who, until he came back to the Cabinet, would ring up many of the parliamentary lobby and feed them multiple anecdotes about.... yes, you've guessed it, Gordon Brown's bullying and tantrums!
Yet lobby etiquette forbids these journalists from exposing Mandelson's rampant hypocrisy to public ridicule. Oh, they will do it at some point in the future after he has long disappeared from the political stage, but what a pity it is that not a single one of them has the bollocks to do it now.
And while we're at it, we already know that Alastair Campbell has excised any mention of Brown's tantrums from his diaries, and yet as soon as Brown leaves office he will dish the dirt. Nice of him to hoodwink the voters in this way.
Labour To Be Slated Over Glasgow North East Postal Votes
Iain Dale 6:12 PM
Background HERE and HERE.
More later.
UPDATE: Apologies, I had a brainstorm earlier and said this was about Glenrothes. It's not, it's about Glasgow North East.
UPDATE: The Scotsman has the story HERE.
I Don't Want a Lobby Pass, Thanks
Iain Dale 2:37 PM
So far as I am aware, there has been little pressure from bloggers for access to the Westminster lobby. I've repeatedly said that I don't want a lobby pass and I can't really see why most other bloggers would. Most of us comment rather than report. I can see why ConHome, LabourList or LibDem Voice might want one, but for individuals whose blogs centre around comment I just can't see what the advantage would be. I have absolutely no interest in attending lobby briefings.
The rules seem to be designed to prevent unaffiliated individuals from gaining a pass anyway. George Parker, the chairman of the press gallery told PR Week...
'The general criteria we would agree with is that the person applying for the pass should be a proper journalist with a track record of journalism; that they should be operating for a respectable news organisation or website with a reasonably large number of subscribers or viewers; and that they should be using the pass for the purposes of journalism, rather than coming in and commenting on stuff.'
That's fairly loose criteria. What constitutes 'respectable'? What constitutes a 'reasonably large number' of readers? It's interesting that Parker chooses to differentiate between reporting and comment. I wonder if an online sketchwriter would be eligible.
Prescott's Got a Cheek
Iain Dale 12:46 PM
PRESCOTT: Yes, Brown has rages but that's all they are.
BROWN: And we all know what happens when you lose your temper, don't we?
PRESCOTT (fuming): Very clever remark from a smart arse journalist.
Lest we forget, here's an article from 2006 from the Mail on Sunday which shows Mr Prescott's unique way of bullying his staff. Still, at least he didn't throw any Nokias. Or keyboards.
JOHN PRESCOTT relentlessly pursued his Civil Service secretary from the very first day she began working for him, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. New extracts from diaries kept by Tracey Temple disclose how Mr Prescott repeatedly made advances towards her, despite her attempts to rebuff him, and how he even flirted with her in front of Ministerial colleagues. She describes in detail how the Deputy Prime Minister was 'eyeing her up' when they met for the first time the day after Labour's 2001 General Election victory.
And just five days later she confessed she felt uncomfortable about the way Mr Prescott continually looked at her. The diary entries, published today in The Mail on Sunday, reveal how, after months of ogling, Mr Prescott attempted to force her on to the bed of his luxurious grace-and-favour London flat.
She had gone there along with Joe Irvin, Mr Prescott's then special adviser, as Mr Prescott was supposed to be working on a crucial speech to be delivered at the Labour Party conference. But as soon as Mr Irvin left, the Deputy Prime Minister made his move.
The diaries detail how Mr Prescott intimately touched his £26,000 a-year secretary as they sat in the back of his chauffeur-driven Government Jaguar and how he enjoyed 'dirty' conversations while she sat at her Whitehall desk...
...Legal experts said last night that had Ms Temple chosen to make a formal complaint about the Deputy Prime Minister's approaches, they would have amounted to sexual harassment. This can constitute any form of unwelcome sexual advance in an office or workplace and includes unwelcome joking, leering and making inappropriate comments as well as physical advances.
Until 2001, the onus was upon individuals bringing actions to prove that they were harassed.
But then new regulations introduced by Labour shifted the burden of proof. Employers are now required to demonstrate that the actions did not constitute sexual harassment.
So, no more lectures on bullying please, Mr Prescott.
Charlie Whelan's Advice on Bullying
Iain Dale 11:58 AM
Am I being bullied?
* Bullies may use terror tactics, open aggression, threats, shouting, abuse, and obscenities towards their target
* Bullies may subject their target to constant humiliation or ridicule, belittling their efforts, often in front of others
* Bullies may subject their target to excessive supervision, monitoring everything they do and being excessively critical about minor things
* Bullies may take the credit for other people's work but never take the blame when things go wrong
* Bullies may constantly override the person's authority
* Bullies may remove whole areas of work responsibility from the person, reducing their job to routine tasks that are well below their skills and capabilities
* Bullies may set the person what they know to be impossible objectives, or constantly change the work remit without telling the person, and then criticise or reprimand the person for not meeting their demands
* Bullies may ostracise and marginalise their target, dealing with the person only through a third party, excluding the person from discussions, decisions etc
* Bullies may spread malicious rumours about the individual
Anyone would think this had been written by Spencer Livermore. And he should know.
Computer Says Aaaaaaagh
Iain Dale 11:13 AM
An IT company was called into Downing Street one weekend to look at Gordon Brown's computer, which, they were told, had gone on the blink. The problem soon became clear. It turned out that someone had hurled the keyboard through the screen...
Now, if the IT repair man would like to get in touch...
Downing Street Bullying Culture Unravels
Iain Dale 8:43 AM
The claim of routine bullying was today backed up a senior former adviser to Brown in No 10, who told the Guardian: "His intense bouts of anger are unremarkable to anyone who has worked closely with him. You just have to put up with this stuff. It is part of the daily experience, almost part of the furniture. He would behave in that way constantly. He suffers from a massive paranoia and an inability to accept blame, yet he runs a blame culture that allows him to blame others. He does not seek to win an argument, he just seeks to bully. If you have not worked closely with him before, it is truly shocking"
Which reminds me. What is Spencer Livermore up to these days? He was Brown's political secretary, who Brown reduced to tears after the election that never was. Shortly afterwards, Livermore quit for a quieter life. And who could blame him.
Brown (and Some Journos) In Denial
Iain Dale 8:01 AM
I invite them to consider their reaction to a FTSE 500 chief executive who had been accused of the same sort of bullying. Would they really attribute it to a ritual bout of grumpiness? I don't think so.
Scroll forward three years. Imagine the scenario. David Cameron is accused of bullying a typist in Number Ten. Does anyone really think left wing journalists wouldn't be in full cry, calling for his head on a platter? Me neither.
It is a matter for profound sadness that Gordon Brown has debased the office of Prime Minister in this way. He's in denial, but that just makes it worse. He may try to deflect the news agenda onto Mrs Pratt and her bullying helpline (as recommended by Lord Mandelson), as well as encouraging his aides to smear her as a Tory stooge but he cannot escape blame in this sorry saga.
A Breach of Confidentiality
Iain Dale 7:09 PM
UPDATE: Dizzy has been beavering away and found Hansard references which prove that there have been allegations of bullying in Downing Street and the Treasury over the last few years.
How We Pay To Be Indoctrinated on Climate Change
Iain Dale 4:59 PM
As we all know, climate change is an emotive issue. On both sides of the argument surrounding what is causing it, strong words are uttered. The sceptics have to shout loudly even to be heard, whereas on the other side, an industry has grown up promoting the thesis of man made climate change. A whole host of literature has been written outlining how and why it is taking place, and it is being used to good effect. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you are making a case you want to use the best evidence and the best arguments.
Except... When the government - sorry, taxpayer - funds a leaflet which doesn't concentrate on the actual case, but how to put it over you have to ask if that is what our money should be used for. Especially, when you read THIS leaflet called THE RULES OF THE GAME: Evidence Base Case for the Climate Change Communications Strategy. It is straplined "The Game Is Communicating Climate Change - The Rules Will Help Us Win It."
The tone of the doucment is revealed on its first page...
“Changing attitudes towards climate change is not like selling a particular brand of soap – it’s like convincing someone to use soap in the first place.”
It then moves on to more specific recommendations about how to "sell" the climate change message...
Here are a few of those recommendations...
- Forget the climate change detractors: Those who deny climate change science are irritating, but unimportant. The argument is not about if we should deal with climate change, but how we should deal with climate change.
- There is no ‘rational man’: The evidence discredits the ‘rational man’ theory – we rarely weigh objectively the value of different decisions and then take the clear self-interested choice.
- Information can’t work alone: Providing information is not wrong; relying on information alone to change attitudes is wrong. Remember also that messages about saving money are important, but not that important.
- Use both peripheral and central processing: Attracting direct attention to an issue can change attitudes, but peripheral messages can be just as effective: a tabloid snapshot of Gwyneth Paltrow at a bus stop can help change attitudes to public transport.
- Link climate change mitigation to positive desires/aspirations: Traditional marketing associates products with the aspirations of their target audience. Linking climate change mitigation to home improvement, self-improvement, green spaces or national pride are all worth investigating.
- Use emotions and visuals: Another classic marketing rule: changing behaviour by disseminating information doesn’t always work, but emotions and visuals usually do.
This isn't just the use of traditional PR communications methods. It's the use of totalitarian indoctrination techniques designed to manipulate public opinion.
I wonder how much the taxpayer paid Futerra for this advice.
Labels: Climate Change
Iain Dale 10:40 AM
Two Labour MPs took part in a champagne drinking contest on an official Commons junket to Paris, which led to one of them being violently ill. Left-winger Bill Etherington drank so much that a doctor was called. It was feared the MP might die after he defeated fellow Labour MP Geraldine Smith in the expenses-fuelled boozing competition. The incident caused lasting damage to the UK’s relations with Europe, with Labour MPs saying it led to Britain being banned from a key European post.
Anti-monarchist and former miners’ union leader Mr Etherington outraged senior politicians from across the Continent when he projectile vomited at a dinner. The conduct of Labour’s self-styled ‘champion drinker’ was reported to Downing Street, but Labour Party leaders ordered a cover-up to prevent a major scandal.
Astonishingly, no action was taken against him. He was told to ‘carry on junketing’ – and returned to Britain yesterday from a trip to Romania similar to the one in Paris where, according to other Labour MPs, he disgraced himself and his country.
A Mail on Sunday investigation has revealed shocking details of how MPs spend more than £800,000 a year on European junkets, which some of them freely admit are an orgy of drinking. Some spend up to two months a year on them, running up bills of around £30,000 each. So little work is done that some politicians regard them as a ‘holiday’. In some instances, MPs use them as opportunities for sex. They get free business-class travel and a daily allowance of £236 paid direct into their bank account by British taxpayers, with no questions asked.
Sunderland North MP Mr Etherington is one of 36 MPs and peers in the Council of Europe (CoE), which also involves membership of the Western European Union (WEU) talking shops on human rights and defence.
The champagne drinking competition took place at an official afternoon reception in Paris, attended by Britain’s all-party WEU delegation of MPs and peers. Unknown to Mr Etherington, as he downed glass after glass of free bubbly, Ms Smith poured her drinks into a plant pot.
Mr Etherington switched from champagne to wine when Labour MPs went on to a dinner with the WEU socialist group at an expensive restaurant. The incident is described in a new book by Labour MP Paul Flynn, who was at the dinner.
Without naming Mr Etherington or Ms Smith, Mr Flynn says CoE meetings were a ‘pretext for shameless alcohol-fuelled jaunts’. He writes: ‘There was a predictable, crucifying and embarrassing climax to a competition between two British MPs to discover who could drink the most champagne.
‘One cheated and dumped excess champagne into flowerpots at the reception. The other kept drinking to excess. 'He was in a “confused” state en route to a dinner in a splendid French restaurant. More champagne was guzzled. [He] had consumed a near lethal quantity of alcohol. ‘He was placed at the top table where he babbled incoherently. The event was a dinner for delegates from about 20 countries.
‘The reputation of the British is still damaged by this incident. It was not the idiotic competition or the wild inebriation that left an indelible memory. It was the display of projectile vomiting across the top table.
Political Artist Goes for Brown
Iain Dale 9:13 AM
Political art is a subject which has allways been controversial. Yesterday an artist called Louis Sidolo got in touch with me to ask if I would like to feature some of his work on my blog. Here's what he said...
I'm a published artist with my work in galleries all around the UK including Harrods.The left will no doubt go apoplectic with rage, but they should calm down and remember the hideous political art of the 1980s featuring Margaret Thatcher. This is mild by comparison.
Although I'm not a member of any political party, I cannot face the thought of another 5 years of Labour. I recently felt inspired to create two pieces of 'Pop art' with a political theme for the forthcoming election. During Obama's campaign in the US, there were a huge number of artists creating work for his campaign, which really made an impact, but I haven't seen much party political art work over here. These are a bit different from the campaign posters that are currently doing the rounds since they are 'art' pieces. These images tell you all you need to know: 'This is Gordon Brown - the facts are staring you in the face - vote for someone else'
The first piece is called 'Reign of Error' . It is a play on words from the recent book which described Gordon Brown’s leadership at No10 as a ‘Reign Of Terror’. In this piece, he is ‘morphed’ into an image of Hitler! Of course it is provocative, but if you think about it, there are strong similarities: Both started out as chancellors, both bullied their way to the top and seized power without being democratically elected, both tried to rig the electoral process, both prone to flying into uncontrollable rages and both caused huge economic damage to our country etc...
The second piece called 'Psychologically Flawed' is not a caricature , it is a portrait derived from an actual photo. I have not distorted it in any way other than through the use of colour to symbolize his personality and mindset. In this piece, influenced by Warhol, he gets the 'satan treatment' with demonic lurid green face clashing with bright orange background, which hints that this person is truly diabolical! The red hand and cufflink symbolises the budget deficit / the red hand of socialism or 'being in the red'.
Louis Sidoli has a website featuring more of his work HERE.
UPDATE: This seems to have caused a bit of a stir in the comments. Let's get a few things straight, shall we? I have reported the fact that a reasonably well known artist has created a bit of controversial political art. The key word here is 'reported'. I haven't given an approving opinion. There are a lot of double standards at play among those who have commented. By reporting something it does not imply approval. I didn't approve of people on the left comparing Margaret Thatcher to Hitler and nor do I approve of others doing the same thing. The point implicit in this piece is that Gordon Brown has achieved such levels of hatred, even among artists nowadays, that they produce pieces of art like this. I felt this was an interesting development and reported it without comment, allowing his own words to justify his art.
Feel free to continue shooting the messenger, but many of you are being blinkered, and reading into this what you want to.
UPDATE 12.54: At least one Labour MP has taken this in the right spirit... Geraldine Dreadful MP has written an open letter to me HERE.
UPDATE 16.50: Dizzy makes the point that no one got very excited when Beau Bo D'Or pictired Gordon Brown as Stalin for Channel 4. Come to think of it, no one got so excited when Vince Cable compared Brown to Stalin, did they? Seeing as though it is not me that's doing the comparing I maintain my view that the reaction to this is totally OTT and full of nauseating rank hypocrisy.
UPDATE Monday: Louis Sidoli has sent me a further comment following the reaction to his image...
"I find it incredible but predictable that some people should find my images offensive rather than a light hearted play on words. The image is called 'Reign of Error' so it is not suggesting that Gordon Brown's actions are the same as those of Hitler (Reign Of Terror) , it is referring to his mistakes and incompetence, though it does suggest that there may be similar character traits. Given all the newspaper revelations and denials over the weekend, it seems as if this analysis could be correct? After all, there is no smoke without fire. There have been so many negative stories about his character now, that you have to assume that at least some of them are 100% correct? Secondly, why is it the 'left' seem to have no sense of humour ? I mean, there are hundreds of images out there portraying George W Bush as Hitler. In the 1980's on 'Spitting Image' Thatcher was portrayed as a bullying fascist tyrant (yes sounds familiar) who would on occasion ask Adolph Hitler for advice, along with Norman Tebbit, her leather clad SS henchman who referred to her as 'leader' - And that was on primetime TV."
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Brown Engulfed by More Bullying Allegations
Iain Dale 10:04 PM
I have to get to the Beeb so I will leave you to read the juicy details yourself. But it comes to a pretty pass when the Cabinet Secretary has to tell the Prime Minister to stop abusing his staff.
UPDATE: this is from Simon Walters' article.
Britain's top civil servant ordered Gordon Brown to 'curb your volcanic
temper' after complaints that he was abusive to his Downing Street staff, it has
emerged. The unprecedented rebuke, delivered by Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus
O'Donnell, was revealed amid explosive disclosures about Mr Brown's wild and
violent outbursts.
The Prime Minister was forced to go on television to deny he had
physically assaulted his aides as a new book claimed: Sir Gus ordered an
official inquiry into allegations of bullying by Mr Brown.
Paranoid Mr Brown grabbed an aide violently and shouted: 'They're out
to get me!' The raging PM thumped the rear of the front seat of his car so hard
that it scared the bodyguard sitting in it; while an aide sitting next to Mr
Brown thought the PM was going to smash him in the face.
Mr Brown dragged a No10 secretary from her chair and took over at her
keyboard. He manhandled a senior adviser who told him he was late for a meeting
with VIPs, yelling: 'Why do I have to meet these ****ing people!' The bombshell
revelations, some of which were reported by The Mail on Sunday three weeks ago,
feature in The End Of The Party, a new book by respected political journalist
Andrew Rawnsley.
This newspaper has also uncovered new evidence of Mr Brown's
extraordinary eruptions, including an incident in which he hurled a tirade of
foul-mouthed abuse at Bank of England Governor Mervyn King in a stand-up row.
A ranting Mr Brown lashed out at Mr King's '****ing ego' and accused
him of talking '****ing bull****' ina heated confrontation at an economic summit
in America.
UPDATE 11pm: In case you are wondering why I am quoting the Mail on Sunday rather thanThe Observer, it's because quite astonishingly, The Observer has nothing about this on its website. Fail.
Brown's "Second Look": Like a Dog Returning to Its Vomit
Iain Dale 8:46 PM
As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
Labour supporters (including, astonishingly, Tom Harris) keep banging on about this "Take a second look at us" quote from Gordon Brown as if it was an act of sheer political brilliance. Let's look at the paragraph in full, shall we?
“I know that Labour hasn’t done everything right and I know I’m not perfect… take a second look at us and take a long hard look at them.”
I heard the clip on 5 Live News earlier and I have to say, it was said in such sepulchral tones that it sent a shiver down my spine. It conjured up a scene from Inspector Morse, or Midsomer Murders where the detective discovers a body and then returns a second time to make sure it's dead.
Or as a friend of mine put it, it's like a dog returning to its vomit and eating it. What a nice vision for you to contemplate over your nightly Horlicks.
One other thing from today's mini election launch. It was noticeable that there was no set. The TV pictures were mixed, to say the least. Is this yet another sign of Labour's poor finances, that they couldn't even afford to build a set to launch their election campaign from. It would never have happened in Tony's day.
A Question for Gerry Adams
Iain Dale 8:04 PM
Where is all the press coverage today? The silence is deafening!
More HERE.
Gordon Brown's Top Tantrums
Iain Dale 3:40 PM
1. Calling senior aides c***s
Gordon Brown was so incensed at the media coverage of the so-called "snub" of the Prime Minister by President Obama while on a visit to the UN in New York last year, that he bawled out his senior political adviser, the mild-mannered Stewart Wood.
Brown was furious that his spin doctors had "allowed" the story to get legs. Sitting naked in his hotel room he allegedly screamed at Wood: "You're a c***", and proceeded to abuse another member of staff, calling him an "even bigger c***".
2. Hitting an aide
“He is alleged to have reacted angrily when he was intercepted by an aide who asked him to attend to another matter. “According to one account, he punched the male official to get him out of the way” (Daily Mail).
3. Throwing a secretary out of her chair
“The Prime Minister's temper is said to have snapped when the secretary failed to keep up as he dictated a memo to her. He reportedly pulled her from her seat and sat at the computer keyboard himself, bashing out the memo”
4. Being rude at a dinner party with US politicians
Peter Watt wrote of a dinner party he attended at 10 Downing Street hosted by Gordon Brown:
“My wife Vilma and I were invited with three other couples – the lobbyist Jon Mendelsohn and his wifel Louis Susman – a Democratic fundraiser who was soon to become US Ambassador in London – and his wife; and another American couple. “Arriving at the flat, we were ushered into the drawing room and there was stilted small talk over aperitifs. While Sarah pottered around getting the meal ready, Gordon began showing people to their seats but was interrupted by one of the No10 staff, saying he had an important phone call. He disappeared, leaving Vilma and two others seated, and the rest of us awkwardly milling about. After a few minutes, we all started to feel a bit silly, so decided just to sit ourselves down. When Gordon finally reappeared he was aghast to find us all at the table. “I didn't sit you all down,” he exclaimed angrily. It was hugely embarrassing and some of the guests started mumbling about getting up again. ““No, no, you might as well stay where you are,” he replied huffily. He sat at the end of the table and swivelled in his chair, so that he almost had his back to everybody, and leaned his head on his arm. For the rest of the meal he was monosyllabic, sulking because he had lost control of the seating plan. “The plates had not even been cleared when suddenly, without saying anything, he just got up and left. As Sarah had also disappeared by then, we all showed ourselves out. “He's bonkers,” Vilma whispered, as we trooped out. I wanted to disagree but she was right. The whole evening had been utterly bizarre” (Peter Watt – Inside Out))
5. Shouting at Blair: ‘You’ve stolen my fucking budget’
“When Tony Blair announced on a Sunday breakfast show that the Government would like to see health spending rise to the European average, Brown was so furious with the Prime Minister that he shouted at him: ‘you’ve stolen my fucking budget.’” (The Observer, 10th of September 2000).
6. Not telling Tony Blair about the details of his budget
Tom Bower, in his biography of Gordon Brown, wrote about the process behind the 2003 budget: “Two days before his [Gordon Brown’s budget] speech, Tony Blair invited the chancellor to outline his proposed budget. The routine had become familiar. Every year, Blair’s staff would furtively seek information from Treasury officials about the budget. Sometimes they were fortunate and an informant, disobeying the chancellor, would reveal a nugget. On other occasions Brown had worked on his personal laptop to prevent any leak to the prime minister. There was no precedent for such conduct in Britain’s entire history. On this occasion, the chancellor arrived with a senior official. The atmosphere was frosty…To each question Blair asked about the budget he remained impassive until he either nodded to the official to disclose the details, or shook his head. Little was said. Thankfully the prime minister, pre-occupied by the war, did not seek a confrontation.”
7. Stapling his own hand
“There is an apocryphal story that Brown, assembling the notes he takes into prime minister’s questions, does his own stapling. One Wednesday morning, he apparently worked himself into such a nervous state that he drew blood when he accidentally stapled his hand. ” Sunday Times, February 24th 2008
8. Using mobile phones and office equipment as missiles
“The prime minister, 58, has hurled pens and even a stapler at aides, according to one; he says he once saw the leader of Britain’s 61 million people shove a laser printer off a desk in a rage. Another aide was warned to watch out for “flying Nokias” when he joined Brown’s team.” (Bloomberg, 24 April 2009) On one occasion, Brown upset his driver when, in a temper, he picked up his mobile phone and hurled it across the car (Mail on Sunday, 13th April 2008).
9. Having bad news broken to him with a ‘News Sandwich’
“One staffer says a colleague developed a technique called a “news sandwich” -- first telling the prime minister about a recent piece of good coverage before delivering bad news, and then moving quickly to tell him about something good coming soon.” (Bloomberg, 24 April 2009)
10. Kicking a desk over in rage
In November 2007, when he was told that two data discs containing the details of 25 million people had gone missing from HM Revenue and Customs, Gordon Brown ‘was supposed to have been so furious that he kicked the nearest desk, and indeed kicked it so hard that he kicked it over’ (Sue Cameron, Dispatches, 9th of June 2008.
11. Making top aide and good friend Spencer Livermore cry
After Brown bottled the 2007 election, it was reported that he was in such a rage that he made one of his top aides, Spencer Livermore, burst into tears. Livermore left five months later (Daily Mail, 9 December 2007).
12. Spending four hours googling for a quote by Shadow Cabinet member Dominic Grieve
“The stories are seeping out from No. 10. The other day, Gordon Brown was convinced that Dominic Grieve, the shadow Home Secretary, had made such a strong attack on 42-day detention as to impugn his commitment to national security. Although Downing Street advisers trawled and Googled, they could not find the quote. Their boss expressed gratitude for their efforts in the way that a sergeant-major would thank a recruit for a speck of dust on his rifle. Mr Brown then stationed himself at a terminal. For the next four hours, he sat there unavailingly, emanating gloom and rage. The non-psychiatric interpretation of his behaviour is termed “the playing politics with national security syndrome”. ” (the Brute, The Independent, 28 July 2008)
13. Flinging his trousers out of the room in an attempt to find his wallet
Tom Bower’s biography of Brown featured a recollection from an aide from around 1994: “An aide walking late at night along the corridor in Millbank heard grunts and groans from Brown’s office. Suddenly a pair of trousers flew out the door, then there was a crash. Brown was scrabbling through a bag, throwing socks and books onto the floor. “I can’t find my wallet,” he shouted. “I need money for a cab fare to the airport.” His personal disorganisation prompted potential sympathisers to question his ability to lead the party. ” (Gordon Brown by Tom Bower)
14. Throwing computers onto the floor
“His private tantrums, culminating once in a computer thrown onto the floor…” (Gordon Brown by Tom Bower). What others have said about working with him. “It’s disgusting...It’s the ghastly macho culture in there. It’s all willy-waving.” (A female minister in The Spectator, 11 June 2009). “He’s morally bankrupt...If you think you can’t win the argument on substance you end up falling back on political fixes and smears. ” (A cabinet minister in The Times on 5th June 2009). “Publicly, Gordon talks about values and his moral compass, but actually the way he conducts himself behind the scenes is anything but that — it’s brutal....That’s what he does. The last ten years is littered with people who’ve been cast aside. ” (Peter Watt in The Times, 11th May 2009). “Brown has never been known for his composure under pressure. He throws things - telephones, mugs, anything to hand. He screams at people. In short, he loses it and, if your staff are never sure when they might need to duck, they are not going to give you their best advice. And Brown needs all the advice he can get.” (Lance Price, former Labour spin doctor in The Mail on Sunday, 3 May 2009). “The trouble is that Gordon is basically mental. Perhaps he already was, but he is getting worse. He is constantly on the phone and won't leave ministers alone to get on with the job. ” (A Cabinet Minister in The Express, 25 April 2008).
Can they all be wrong? And if they're not, how on earth did the Labour Party allow this man to become PM?
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