ConservativeHome credited with throwing Brown's announcement plans into disarray

Today's Observer:

"Brown's plans for his announcement were thrown into disarray when news of his decision was leaked to the Conservative Home website. This meant Cameron was able to broadcast his attack before Brown has a chance to explain himself on television. His interview with Marr was recorded in Downing Street yesterday afternoon for broadcast today. While Cameron's full remarks were broadcast last night, only short extracts of Brown's interview were broadcast on the 24-hour news channels."

While it is true that ConservativeHome was the first to emphatically declare the election was off, Danny Finkelstein's Comment Central blog appears to have speculated about the possibility 80 minutes earlier.  We'll take the credit, however, and a BBC source has told us that our post was a key trigger for the story breaking on their bulletins when it did. Proud to have helped.

Deputy Editor

11am: Danny Finkelstein has written for the first time since his post of yesterday and analyses what it means for  'in a lot of trouble' Brown.

Comments

[greg]

The Question is:

Did the leak come from within the BBC or within the Govt? ;)

[Annabel Herriott]

Now there's a thing Greg! Is there two Macavities skulking around??

[activist]

Congrats Tim and Sam on the scoop. I suggest the name I saw on political betting, "Yellow Saturday"!

[activist]

I think Danny F spotted the marginals poll on the notw website when it went up at lunchtime.

[Pisaboy]

Even if the Fink had said it emphatically noone would have noticed. I was scouring the internet obsessively yesterday and his speculation didn't come across my radar at all!

[Dave Bartlett]

Well done CH team :-).

[Henry Mayhew - Ukipper]

Well done CH. You are helping us get our democracy back. Now, on to a referendum on the constitution as promised. They don't like it up 'em.

[Tony Makara]

Conservative activists have done a great job in exposing Gordon Brown's opportunism and lack of convicion when it came to the crunch. Now that the British electorate have been courted and stood up by Brown, lets all work hard to ensure that Gordon Brown will always be remembered as the petrified premier.

[Malcolm Dunn]

Well done chaps you should be very proud of yourselves.. Really sorry to have missed all the fun yesterday afternoon. Rugby took precedence over politics in this household.

[Patsy Sergeant]

Well done Tim and Sam, yes it was fun yesterday afternoon.

[Alan Douglas]

AND we have the definitive idea for a statue for the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square :

The "Petrified Prime Minister" would of course be a liflike representation of Brown in his PM's Question Time pose with his finger up his nose.

The popular name for the statue would of course soon become "The Bogeyman".

Alan Douglas

[Mike T]

Overjoyed, just overjoyed, his carefully span edifice of no nonsense serious politician has been demolished.

I've waited 20 years to see this non-entity of British Politics rightly shown up, today is a good day.

Conviction Politician?

Erm, ok Gordon.

Many, many congrats to all Tories for showing courage, unity and purpose to face him down.

Ours is the future, there is still a lot to do. We have to be ruthless, Gordon is down, let's put the boot in, to keep him down.

Show them the ruthlessness they showed us.

[John Leonard]

Well done CH Team.

I never thought I would see Adam Boulton livid at Labour and tearing chunks out of Labour Ministers and MP's. Has Brown now broken his covenant with the Murdoch Empire? Let's hope so!

[Sally Roberts]

Well done Tim and Sam!!

Alan Douglas - what a brilliant idea but what a horrible thought! The vision of GB with his fingers stick up his hooter is putting me off my breakfast!

[Katy Taylor-Richards]

errr, no surely it is well done to Tim & Jonathan?

[Conand]

Err no, this was in October 2007 therefore it was Sam.