Let’s hope for a catastrophe
by Scoop Shachtman, 21 April 2008
Gordon Brown is a nail-bitingly bad disaster. His fatal indecisiveness permeates his administration. Hie second-rate Machiavellian tendencies were bearable when directed in private at Blair, but now they make him look an arse in public. His inept scheming has made him look both stupid and untrustworthy. Turning up to sign a treaty on his own: pathetic. Signaling an election and then not having the guts to carry out: dreadful. Scrapping the 10p tax rate to catch the Tories out: useless. Everything he does now looks like a scheme to gain political advantage - even when it isn’t. Power for power’s sake; policies from conviction or evidence? Forget it.
It does not matter how often the point about the 10p tax rate is made that you have to look at the budget as a whole, the perception has changed. Winning any vote will be a Pyrrhic victory.
Losing, of course, will be a catastrophe. It will damage Labour in the short-term. Combined with the expected loss of the vote over 42 days detention of terror suspects, it may be the end of Brown.
Suddenly the catastrophe doesn’t look so bad. The real disaster would be to have Brown fight the next election.
Let’s hope for a catastrophe.
Monday 21 April 2008 at 23:31
Agree that Brown is a disaster - but…
Losing, of course, will be a catastrophe. It will damage Labour in the short-term. Combined with the expected loss of the vote over 42 days detention of terror suspects, it may be the end of Brown.
Suddenly the catastrophe doesn’t look so bad. The real disaster would be to have Brown fight the next election.
Let’s hope for a catastrophe.
He’s made it an issue of confidence so the convention would be for an election to follow - with Brown at the helm.
The thing with the 10p tax rate - while I agree with all those criticising this move, it’s hardly news and I really don’t see what excuse rebel MPs have for making a fuss about it now when they didn’t take this opportunity at the time. Can they really not have noticed until now? If so, they look rather dim. If not, they look rather opportunistic to me.
Tuesday 22 April 2008 at 10:39
Dim and opportunistic? Perish the thought.
It got lost in their joy in the cut in the standard rate, paid for by the abolition of the 10p rate. In other words, they raised taxes on the poor to cut them for the rich. It is part of the fixation that cutting income tax is the only way to stop the Tories and win elections. A stupid, mechanistic way of thinking about voting behaviour.
Catastrophe? I so don’t want a catastrophe. I just want the Labour Party to return to sanity.
Tuesday 22 April 2008 at 11:12
Yes, prudence my arse. nu lab/tory wet, so let’s not get nostalgic for blair either. that cunt was winging it for years too. if it hadn’t been for the split in the left over Iraq he wouldn’t have got the incredibly easy ride he had. Too many forgave him everything because of his stance over Iraq and kept it buttoned when they should have gone for his throat.
in light of recent events can we press too for bankers paying themselves bonuses to be jailed, at least until the tax payers handout to them has been returned.
And no to in-effect pay cuts for teachers.
Tuesday 22 April 2008 at 11:15
I tend to agree with Shuggy and Gadgie (including the posts at their own sites). A catastrophe is more likely to result in retrenchment than in serious evaluation.
One major problem with all of this is that media attention and commentary is largely about the “game” of politics rather than the content. (How poor media management of decision making is, rather than are the decisions correct). This was,to an extent, media created at a time when there was no effective opposition. Cameron has subsequently surfing this trend and made it worse by engaging in a managerial rather than ideological offensive. (Easy from a position of opposition and aided by Browns clear lack of skill at “playing the game”).
The 10p issue is an example of this, best viewed in the 10-year context of a failure to make any serious moves towards progressive, re-distributive taxation. (Most of) Today’s malcontents do look opportunistic in this light.
Tuesday 22 April 2008 at 22:26
Seldom has the gap between naked ambition and ability been so starkly demonstrated as with Brown. Given his behaviour in the years leading to his gaining the premiership how could anyone be surprised at his ineptitude or untrustworthyness, if thats even a word
Wednesday 23 April 2008 at 9:39
s/y/i/ and you’re away.
Thursday 24 April 2008 at 22:01
Brown has always had this terrible tendency to trump his rivals.
The most obvious one I can think of is the civil service job cuts under Gershon.
They were expecting 60000, at which point the Lib Dems said he should be able to chop 80000, then the Tories piled in and said they’d chop 100000.
When it was announced Brown had managed to magic the figure up to 120000.