"The truly astounding fact we have discovered in recent months is that a Cabinet without John Prescott and Margaret Beckett is less competent than the Cabinet when they were in it."

William Hague has just ended the morning session of Spring Forum with a laugh-a-minute attack on Labour:

"The Prime Minister who did not have the courage to call the election he had planned is the same Prime Minister who does not have the honour to call the referendum that he promised.

The only thing he has been able to decide upon is to run away from ever consulting the people.

There they were when we met at Blackpool last October, talking of nothing but an imminent election with the arrogant over-confidence that comes from too long in power. Neil Kinnock was even there to say that an election would be called and the Tories would be ‘ground in to the dust’. A triumphalist Kinnock - a sure sign that everything was about to come to grief.

For it turned out within hours that the Prime Minister who had calculated on an early election before he was found out had been rumbled already; that the leader who had prepared for the battle did not have the bottle to begin it; and it has since turned out that he is the same leader who agrees a European Treaty but can’t decide whether to attend the ceremony, calls a minister incompetent but couldn’t decide whether to sack him, calls a review of round the clock drinking but then can’t decide to go ahead and put a stop to it as he should; this is the Prime Ditherer of the nation.  He reminds me of the American state Governor who once said ‘I’m not indecisive. Or am I?’

Perhaps this is no surprise, but for me the truly astounding fact we have discovered in recent months is that a Cabinet without John Prescott and Margaret Beckett is less competent than the Cabinet when they were in it.

Not only have they lost the bank account details of every family in the country and let out thousands of criminals early because they failed to plan for prison places, but we have a Home Secretary who is scared to walk down the street and a Chancellor who appeared to have dreamt he was delivering the budget and then woke up to find that he was."

The main thrust of William Hague's talk was the party's efforts to win back the north.  Download a full PDF of the speech.

Comments

[Tony Makara]

The problem Gordon Brown faces is that he is a big fish in a small tank. The Labour party has been so focused on the Blair/Brown axis that it has failed to bring forward the independently minded thinkers who can come up with fresh innovative policy. Basically Labour are in a rut, thats why Brown is so keen on the cabinet of all the talents theme. That's why he looks to David Freud for answers on what to do about the benefit mountain. Gordon Brown does not know what to do, he has run out of ideas and has surrounded himself with people incapable of independent thought, let alone radical thought. When two people do all the thinking in a political party over a fourteen year period its little wonder that the ideas dry up. Labour have now hit the bottom of the barrel intellectually, they are running on empty.

[TFA Tory]

The Lisbon Treaty is no joke, Mr Hague. We will be stuck with it long after the Gateshead giggles have subsided.

The Conservatives failed to mount an effective campaign against it and merely jumped on the I Want A Referendum bandwagon on the odd occasion when it suited them.

It is time to get serious and provide the political leadership that the country needs. A good start would be a detailed policy on how Mr Hague will get our national sovereignty back from the Brussels BEUrocrats.

[Christina Speight]

"Laugh a minute" eh? I would rather had a speech on "Broken Britain - Mend it with the Tories"

Hague is supposed to be Foreign Secretary in waiting. But neither he nor his pathetic boss addresses the global financiual meltdown which is threatened, n or do they deal with the promise they've made over Europe "we will not let it rest there". S0 WHAT an d HOW are they going to redeem that promise.

What an apology for a party it is now. All Hague can do is tell jokes. As Toony Makara says "they are running on empty." - though I'm surprised to see that HE is talking about Labour.

[m dowding]

Christina Speight, though your comments are in some (but certainly not all) respects, valid, what are your proposals and actions to put things right? Negative criticism is the art of lazy and idle thought.
A Party with a sense of humour, like soldiers in battle, have a special place and service to perform. If you don't laugh at this excuse for a government you must surely weep. The worst possible Conservative Government would shine as excellent in comparison with "Snot" eater and his bully boy cretins.
You gotta smile!

[James Maskell]

I see a theme here with Hague doing the funny attacks on Brown. Is Hague becoming the Prescott of Cameron's Conservatives at Conference time, albeit speaking English?

Flicking through the speech there doesnt seem to be much content on foreign affairs. Hague needs to show he can be an effective Foreign Secretary. He is popular because of the way in which he can attack Labour, but unless he can direct the attacks on the area of Foreign Affairs, how do we know how good he will be as Foreign Secretary?

Hague is one of my favorite Tories, as far as liking them goes, but he really needs to justify his place.

[TFA Tory]

M Dowding, the Conservative soldiers are like the British Army under Labour. They are under-equipped and their morale is being sapped by inept leadership. Read the blog posts by Sam Coates of the Times. The members were appalled by the left-wing nonsense that was spouted from the platform.

[TFA Tory]

""The truly astounding fact we have discovered in recent months is that a Cabinet without John Prescott and Margaret Beckett is less competent than the Cabinet when they were in it."

It is equally astounding that the Shadow Cabinet includes such useless performers as Francis Maude, Oliver Letwin, Theresa Villiers and Theresa May. There is more talent and Ministerial talent on the backbenches than there is in the Shadow Cabinet. Michael Fallon, Nadine Dorries and John Redwood are obvious examples.

[Matt Wright]

We know we are doing well when the whingers re-appear apparently panicking.

[Patsy Sergeant]

You can rest assured m.dowding @ - 15.49 - you can always rely on Christina to be positive with negative crticism.

[Hague knows nothing]

Hague is just a banter merchant. Great lines no substance.

[Dave]

Great speech. Funny and to the point while holding Labour by the balls.