So this is the new politics then. Use MPs from the official opposition to "advise" on specifc policy areas knwoing full well that there are two possible outcomes when you use their ideas.
Either (a) the Opposition denounce the ideas and thus show that they're actually split, or (b) the Opposition accepts them and people say "well what's the point of the Opposition?". Exceptionally clever move by Brown I have to admit.
John Bercow is not really a surprise of course, but choosing the man Cameron fired over allegations of "racism" is quite a masterstroke really. Not very loyal of the two of them to take Brown's shilling of course, but it has taken the idea of triangulation to another level really.
9 comments:
Never mind that. What about the news that Ms A Widdy is retiring and moving on to Showbiz? And thst posters backing Dale are already displayed in parts of Kent?
That's not exactly news is it? It's been pretty well known for ages that Widdiecombe was standing down at the next election, she's not exactly hidden from it. And seeing as Iain Dales lives in Kent near the constituency, is on the candidatelist, it stands to reasons that he's probably going to go for the seat doesn't it? So what's the news again?
Just shows how weak the Tories are under Cameron. Like this week he says a few good Tory ideas then goes and spoils it all by saying they will spend as much as Labour in the first 3 years. Why vote Tory then, they have lost it big time. we need a LEADER.
The reason for saying that about spending is actually exactly the same as the reason Labour said it in 1997.
Dizzy,
There's a third option, which is to welcome the fact that Gordon Brown is taking advice on important matters from the Conservatives, rather than leaving it to the Labour party.
As for Mercer, perhaps some of the quotes from the Labour party about how he shouldn't be a part of any modern political party could be quietly highlighted to the mainstream press......
Johnny,
Please could you do a better job of your attacks on the Tories as your recent ones are just plain boring.
Dizzy,
'Advising' is better than 'defecting', more so when the Tories want the end of the 'Brown Bounce' to be the story.
That is probable his intention, but personally I think it will backfire with his own backbenchers and the opposition. Take the Bercow announcement, bad timing or what in light of the Conservatives already in the news with their education policy. What better recommendation that they have the right idea's on special needs (something they have already highlighted and shown a commitment to), education or security?
This is the latest in a string of "manouvers" that prove to me that Brown is an excellent politician.
Just a pity he hasn't spent the time proving how well he can run the country...
"The reason for saying that about spending is actually exactly the same as the reason Labour said it in 1997."
Except we have have a strange reversal. Labour said it to prove that they could be "prudent" and responsible, in the face of attacks by the the then Conservative press, where as the Conservatives need to show that they are willing to be as irresponsible as Labour have been, to stop the BBC jumping all over them! How things have changed for the worse. However, It is the current political reality that the Conservatives have to be seen in a certain light whilst in opposition, to get elected. The thing is, that once in government, it is easier to introduced tax-cuts and cost-savings from the vast amount of government waste, and be applauded for it. nobody wants to hear about tax-trises in a Budget statement and with a more supportive press, these ideas can be sold much more easily than at present from opposition. It wasn't until the '83 election that the Conservatives had their radical manifesto, very little was mentioned in '79.
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