So are Labour on their way out?

Square Eyes · Tue 02 Jun, 2009 20.23

I thought you had your reshuffle after the meltdown at the polls ? This lot seem to be pre-empting it.

Doesn't give Brown long for his new team to become established before the election.

marksi · Wed 03 Jun, 2009 10.45

PMQs is going to be rather interesting today, following the resignation of Hazel Blears a short time ago (Brown "stabbed in the front" by 4'10" Blears says Michael White of the Guardian).

I predict a general election very soon.

barcode · Wed 03 Jun, 2009 11.24

marksi wrote:PMQs is going to be rather interesting today, following the resignation of Hazel Blears a short time ago (Brown "stabbed in the front" by 4'10" Blears says Michael White of the Guardian).

I predict a general election very soon.

I would put money on for September. but I still think a hung Parliament will be on the cards!
tomorrow the tories could just as bad as labour, with UKIP and libs dem maybe getting somewhere?

James H · Wed 03 Jun, 2009 11.59

Just watched Brillo getting very very agitated at Caroline Spelman and Geoff Hoon. Nobody in that entire bunch of cunts can give a straight answer. "Does xxx pay British tax?" "Well, er...." It's a simple question. In fact, I've heard it's tomorrow's quiz on GMTV.

Gavin Scott · Wed 03 Jun, 2009 12.34

James H wrote:Just watched Brillo getting very very agitated at Caroline Spelman and Geoff Hoon. Nobody in that entire bunch of cunts can give a straight answer. "Does xxx pay British tax?" "Well, er...." It's a simple question. In fact, I've heard it's tomorrow's quiz on GMTV.

Lord Ashcroft. Deputy leader of the Tories - who patently doesn't pay UK tax.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/n ... 080379.stm

Square Eyes · Wed 03 Jun, 2009 12.53

All these ministers resigning, and there is still the election results to come.

What chance for Gordon Brown beyond the weekend ?

Sput · Wed 03 Jun, 2009 12.59

I think if Brown does hang on for a few more months there could be a broader political payoff from my point of view, because it's starting to look (and I know nothing about economics and only repeat what I've read) that the measures they've taken to stabilise the economy have actually broadly been a success, based on what the IMF have said. Today I've read there are predictions of a return to growth by the end of the year.

So I've got a little bit of faith, not that Labour have any chance of winning the next election (I feel that's out of the window) but that we might not see a Tory landslide (I would hate this). If we do see recovery I've also got higher hopes that people are less likely to do the selfish scared-of-unemployment based voting that horrid things like the BNP and ukip are counting on right now.

Of course, that scenario depends on three big ifs: 1) brown does hang on until the year end, 2) by then the expenses thing has calmed down a bit, and 3) if we DO see signs of economic recovery by that point. Like I say, big ifs, but I'm of the opinion that Brown sticking around for as long as he can might be better in a broader sense than having an election in the very near future.

Gavin Scott · Wed 03 Jun, 2009 13.16

I have yet to see or hear anything coming from Cameron which gives me confidence that he could guide us out of this financial crisis any more effectively than Brown is doing - and given what's at stake I'm not inclined to afford another party a chance to make this a longer and deeper recession than it needs to be.

Putting aside the Government's complicity in the crisis, there is strong evidence to suggest that the measures Brown has taken subsequently are helping.

I have no clue what the Tories would do were they to win an election. Can anyone of their potential voters here enlighten me?

Jovis · Wed 03 Jun, 2009 13.20

Gavin Scott wrote:I have yet to see or hear anything coming from Cameron which gives me confidence that he could guide us out of this financial crisis any more effectively than Brown is doing - and given what's at stake I'm not inclined to afford another party a chance to make this a longer and deeper recession than it needs to be.

I agree. And I would be very angry/frustrated were progress made by measures put in place by Brown to be claimed by the Tories.

rts · Wed 03 Jun, 2009 13.39

A group of rebel MPs have begun soliciting signatures for a round robin letter calling for Gordon Brown to step down.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009 ... wn-to-quit

Pineapplemint · Thu 04 Jun, 2009 20.14

How many people feel like voting for a particular party is like supporting a football team, you support/vote for them even if its hard times theyre going through

Even in 1997 when the Cons had descended into the corruption and sleeze quagmire
most governments sink into when they've been 12+ years in government
They still had 9 million voting for them even though surely if you voted tory most of the time you
would realise you need a change to shake out the grot in the top levels

But now that Labour is in the same position how many millions will still put a vote for them
even though it must be clear that its a vastly different party from what it was even 15 years ago.

Arent Labour and the Conservatives really one party now - LabCon if you like.
Labour the left wing of it. Torys the right.

Which you couldn't make much of an argument for in the Thatcher and Kinnock political era