Louise Bagshawe: Gimmick Brown

Louise Bagshawe salutes the new Sultan of Spin.

So, Gordon Brown is a Thatcherite, eh? He admires the greatest living politician and he actually compares himself to her. This from the lifelong Scotland fan who famously declared that one of his favourite sporting moments was Gazza's goal against Scotland in Euro '96.

You know what? There are a lot of people of Scottish descent living in Corby, the major town in my constituency. A town where Labour told civil servants with white collar jobs in one of the most deprived areas of Northants that they were, and I quote, too "white British" to meet government diversity targets. A town where low income people suffer from his scrapping of the 10% tax band. I intend using Mr. Brown's choice of Gazza's goal against Scotland in campaign literature. It matters here because it shows that Gordon Brown will do or say anything if he perceives it will get him a vote. Real Scotland fans will be unimpressed.

This week we have seen a pathetic attempt to grab the initiative after David Cameron wiped out his (truncated) honeymoon. Gordon Brown is promising a new kind of politics whilst hanging on with bitten fingernails to true Blairite spin. First, he "recruits" disaffected Tory and LibDem MPs as advisers, claiming bipartisanship but not checking with the party leaders. Secondly, as with his contemptible claim to have loved a rival's goal against the team he's supported all his life, he dares to compare himself to the colossus of Margaret Thatcher, a woman he reviled throughout his political career. Thirdly, terrified he's had the shortest honeymoon since Jessica Simpson, Brown brought out some classic Blairite gimmickry - "citizens' juries", ie glorified focus groups, to make policy - and he'd announced citizens' juries 17 times already before today.

Bottom line: Brown is not serious. He's a debate-ducking, Blairite-spinning, war-retreating, gimmick-loving politician. I can't pretend I'm too much of a football fan. But I watch when England plays, and I can say I never saw a goal against them that I enjoyed.

Goes to character, Your Honour. Gordon Brown, down in the polls, too "frit" to debate Cameron or call an election, has shown this week who is the true chameleon. This tax-raising, Thatcher-loathing Europhile is not worthy to invoke the great lady's name. Call an election, Prime Minister. We want to fight one. Phony Tony has been replaced by Gimmick Gordon.

Comments

[Teck]

Sorry, but Gimmick Gordon flows better than Gimmick Brown, from which my kids could then nickname him as Gimmon Gordon!

Spread the word and the political flaws of Gordon in the Fight Back!

[MH]

About as authentic as Dave saying he sycles to work every day and then has his suit and case travelling behind in a chauffeur driven car. Or sayibg that he understands the issues and aspirations of ordinary people, whilst ducking the fact that he's a multi millionaire trustafarian.

[Tony Makara]

Gordon Brown really ought to know better than to steal other peoples clothes. Particularly Margaret Thatcher's. I can remember the venom with with Gordon Brown spoke about Mrs Thatcher, so to now claim he is her spiritual son is completely two-faced. As Louise correctly says Gordon Brown is shape-shifting politician, he will do anything, say anything to get what he wants. The newsnight footage of him saying how he favours TV debates contrasted with Brown's refusal to debate David Cameron just goes to show what a shape-shifter he is.

[Random passing lefty]

Like the Arctic Monkeys story, the Gazza goal story is inaccurate. Google will tell you this within about 30 seconds if you bother to fact check.

As such, this piece, ironically accusing Brown of spin, leads with a demonstrable falsehood. The only reason I mention this and, unusually I wish you guys well here, is that it illustrates a broader point. Ms. Bagshawe believes her own propaganda, as do many of you, and this is one of the reasons why you fail to prosper.

[Simon Newman]

"War-retreating"?

[David Belchamber]

One must be very careful about accusations but it does surprise me that Brown, as the son of the manse, should have been so deceitful as Chancellor. I have no evidence that he ever lied to us but maybe others have better memories....

[LiberalHammer]

"No evidence he ever lied"? Grab a copy of 'Servants of the People' by Andrew Rawnsley!

[Moral minority]

When it comes to gimmicks, nothing can beat the pathetic windmill on Dave's house!

He and Boy Gideon have just promised to key Gordo's sky high spending and taxes.

Pot, kettle and black spring to mind!

[Richard]

Where is Baroness Thatcher at the moment? I keep hearing reports that she is unwell, but wouldn't it be nice if she popped up now to make a rare public statement putting down Mr Brown's opportunistic rubbish with withering disdain, and then putting in a few good words for D.C. to rally the old-timers?

[Moral minority]

From what I hear, Baroness Thatcher is very unhappy that the Cameroons are trashing her record.

For example, Cameron made very disparaging remarks about her South African policy when he visited the country to meet Nelson Mandela. Only this week, Stephen Dorrell criticised Thatcher's health policies. Dorrell was a junior health minister in the Thatcher government and Secretary of State for Health in the Major government. Hypocrite!

I would surprised if Baroness Thatcher attends the Conservative Way Forward dinner with Cameron in November. The Lady is not a masochist.

[Roger Helmer]

You can see why Louise Bagshawe is a best-selling novellist. She has an amazing way with words, and I shall plagiarise her shamelessly. By the way, she is also right! Gordon Brown should call an election. But first he should call a referendum.

[Mike Thomas (215cu)]

You go Louise, give him some from me too.

I think Brown's 'admiration' of Thatcher was the straw that broke the Camel's back in the eyes of the electorate too.

[Dick Wishart]

I keep hearing that Cameron is Trashing Mrs Thatchers record but no one seems to spell out exactly whats being trashed.
MH. You dont have to be poor to understand other peoples problems & aspirations as you do not have to put your hand in a pan of hot water to see if its hot!.If you have a problem with Camerons education/upbringing then thats something you have to deal with yourself dont inflict it on us.

[Stephen Tolkinghorne]

"Brown is not serious. He's a debate-ducking, Blairite-spinning, war-retreating, gimmick-loving politician"

You could replace 'Brown' with 'Cameron', and you'd be just as correct.

Anyway, so what if the troops do move out of the Basra palace. Personally, I'm sick and tired of reading about the latest death of a member of Her Majesty's armed forces - yet another betrayed by ZaNu Labour.

Get them all out, and now ! Clearly Louise Bagshawe relishes the slaughter of those terrible working-class types.

[Moral minority]

Dick wrote "I keep hearing that Cameron is Trashing Mrs Thatchers record but no one seems to spell out exactly whats being trashed."

See my comment above. Team Cameron has also criticised Thatcher on the environment, transport and education.

John Major is treated with kid gloves. That may have something to do with Dave being Lamont's Special Adviser on Black Wednesday. Isn't it strange that Dave has not apologised for joining the ERM?

[Serf]

Isn't it strange that Dave has not apologised for joining the ERM?

He was special advisor at the time we left the ERM, not when we joined. Apologising for what came before hand would be a little strange.

[Moral minority]

Serf, Dave apologised to Mandela for the Thatcher government's South Africa policy, i.e. before the abolition of apartheid and Mandela's release from prison. That was a recent example of him apologising for "what came before hand". So the least he can do is apologise for the ERM (of which he was a supporter) and the misery it caused.

The ERM fiasco lost us millions of votes that have never returned. We those voters back if we are to win back power. An apology from Dave would be a big help.

[David Belchamber]

Roger Helmer at 12.39 is absolutely correct:

"Gordon Brown should call an election. But first he should call a referendum".

The much maligned Michael Ancram summed it up when saying:

"Sovereignty belongs to the British people, and can be surrendered only with the express consent of the British people. What was in effect a European Constitution agreed by Tony Blair in June, undeniably diminishes our national sovereignty, and it is outrageous for Gordon Brown to argue that a referendum is unnecessary".

Maybe it would be better if we accepted that the onus of proof is now upon us to show exactly how our sovereignty will be diminished if this treaty is ratified, rather than invite the government to show that it will not.

[Jack Cade]

Don't be distracted by the useful idiots spewing smokescreens around Broon and attempting to marginalise Cameron. Ask yourself whose department had the worst reputation for bullying after Prescott's? Brown was always Kato to Blair's Clouseau. Now he's out of the cupboard his minders have even had to get rid of the replay function for PMQs on satellite TV to disguise his intellectual nudity. If nothing else, the culture of casual murders and the Labour government's continued investment in politicising public services and institutionalising failure has made it clear that we now have a government that has successfully detached itself from the people, a government whose end and aims are identical: power.

[Tony Makara]

Roger Helmer, I agree with you that Louise is a fine writer but I'm wondering who on earth is Jessica Simpson? I assume she must be some non-entity celebrity. I liked the Gimmick Gordon line. Government by gimmick is certainly all that Labour has left in the locker. The fact that Gordon Brown had to resort to re-heating old promises during his coronation shows that the policy-making cupboard is bare. I can't imagine what a Labour manifesto is going to look like, they really are a burnt-out government.

[Iain]

Yes Brown’s citizens juries are a particularly contemptible idea and nothing more than a cure for a disease new Labour have propagated in our democracy.

Our representatives have been so enfeebled by the Executive and party whips, they become ineffective and no more than lobby fodder.

Our opposition parties are being co-opted into Brown's big tent, essentially seeking to make it a one party state.

And now because there is no feed back of public opinion through our MP's and opposition parties, Brown seeks to 'connect' with the public via citizen juries, an idea which sounds as if it comes straight from Chavez or Castro.

The solution is very simple, it is for him to remove his hands from the throat of our opposition parties and his boot from the neck of our MP's.

But its especially cynical of Brown, for as he troops round a ‘citizen jury’ in Bristol , he is at the same reneging on a manifesto commitment to give us a referendum on the EU Constitution, ignores MP’s calling for him to honour his promise and ignores the overwhelming polls demanding a referendum, no those are citizen voices he has no intention of listening too.

[David Sergeant]

Good stuff trom Louise. However, yesterday this site was waxing lyrical about the behaviour of the Telegraph. I noted how yesterday one Telegraph columnist really summed up what Brown was about. To-day another columnist puts the anti Brown boot in even better.

What worries me is that we are trying to be so responsible we don't address the real depths that this man has lowered himself to. One of the reasons for the success of NewLab has been the extent that they are prepared to shamelessly lie and the depths they have reached are such the Tories have been reluctant to grub around in that moral and interlectual pit. Thus vast areas of politics and "received wisdom" bear little relation to the facts.

I am in danger of agreeing with Simon Heffer, not to mention I suspect some interviewers, in that the Tory party leadership still doesn't get a grip on calling Brown for what he really is. The two columnists and Louise have done a good job, but, they are being too respectable about the man, but, what I want to know is why the hell do we have to leave it to these three instead of the party leadership doing the fighting. In a GE not being Brown should be one of the most popular policies.

[Iain]

David Sergeant, yes I agree, there seems to be a reluctance by the Conservative leadership to really stick the political knife into Brown. They failed to do it over the fiscal mess Brown has made of Government finances, every English Nurse and Prison Officer should be cursing Brown when they open their wage packet and find their wage rise has been staged, the Conservatives should have personalised it. When Brown went round saying the NHS was his priority, everybody should have been saying liar, for they should have had the Conservatives pointing out his action to cut the capital budget of the English NHS by a third, and today as Brown pretends to listen to people in is crummy citizen juries, the Conservative high command should have linked it to his refusal to listen to the people where it matters, when they are asking for him to fulfil his promise to hold a referendum on the EU Constitution.

In this and other instances, you get a feeling the Conservative leadership aren’t hungry enough, they cruise around doing their nicey nicey stuff, but they seem to be missing when there is the dirty political knife work to be done.

[Annabel Herriott]

Nah Iain!! Its Brown who is Macavity! Macavity's not there when any thing faintly iffy comes up - not me guv sez Gordo! Check out your T.S. Eliot The analogies are amazing. I printed it out for a bit of fun on a Gordon Brown thread a couple of days ago.

[Iain]

Annabel Herriott, whilst I fully accept that Brown is Macavity personified, nevertheless there is a failure by the Conservatives to really stick the political knife into Brown. An article today by Robert McIlveen on the front page of Conservative home makes the similar charge, that the Conservatives have failed to deconstruct Labours linguistic dissembling, and the only reason Cameron is having to take the Conservative party to the centre ground is that they have failed to drag the centre ground to them in the political case they are making or not.

But I would go further, the first move to shift the centre ground onto your territory is to savage Government actions and policies, for its only the case of failure you make about Government policies, that gets you a listening audience for your solutions. At the moment the Conservatives don't seem to have got to first base, for the only reason Labour can chop and change policies as the mood takes them, is because the Conservatives have failed to hang the failure of Labour policies around Brown and Labours neck. Essentially it's an old Parliamentary value, accountability, and at the moment Conservative Parliamentary party is failing to hold Labour to account.