Does Labour suffer from a suicide tendency? Are they really sufficiently off their trolley to take pot shots at themselves rather than their opponents right at the start of the unofficial election campaign? The answer seems to be yes. Just when Brown and Darling seemed to score a successful hit against Cameron on the married people's tax, Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt come sweeping in from the cold and like a couple of abominable snowmen amongst the Labour pigeons are causing chaos.
Were I a Labour member (and thankfully I am not) I would be in a state of despair. This action seems to be uncoordinated. It is not a major conspiracy in which large numbers of Labour MPs are taking part. So, yet again, Brown, who won't be prised out of office before the election, is faced with individual, irresponsible, self-righteous cranks who think they can bring down the PM. Blears and Purnell last year thought they could bring down Brown. All they did was wreck their own party.
Brown is secure as leader until the election. Any attempt to dislodge him by disgruntled Labour MPs will simply be an internal row that damages Labour. So Labour must have taken leave of their senses, on the eve of the election. It's not the longest suicide note in history but it is certainly the longest political self-strangulation session on record.
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1 comment:
How soon before Hoon and Hewitt defect to the Conservative Party? Hoon always was on that wing of New Labour (briefing journalists in 1997 on how unfriendly the party was to the trade unions, if I recall correctly) and Hewitt has already made the classic move from young radical to middle-aged reactionary.
Their press release will not affect Brown's leadership, but has already given a boost to the opposition parties.
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