It is sometimes mind-blowing how wrong the Government can be on issues where it simply makes the wrong call. Today's papers exult over the fact there was a Commons defeat for Gordon Brown on the Gurkhas and their right to stay in Britain. Cue pictures of Cameron, Clegg and Joanna Lumley outside the House of Commons celebrating a victory for democracy which will no doubt be followed by more opinion polls showing a plummeting rating for Labour. Of course many Labour MPs rebelled on this issue and they were right to do so.
The fact they had to is a sign that somehow those at the highest levels of power have somehow lost touch with their electorate . This latest fiasco is one of a series which have undermined the Government because they have got it wrong.
One of Tony Blair's great assets was his ability to sense the mood of the nation - particularly Middle England. This led to policies which infuriated the left and much of the Labour Party. But, under his watch, it would never have been suggested that the Gurkhas should have been denied the right to stay in this country. It was interesting to read in Chris Mullin's diaries that it was Brown, not Blair, who insisted on the privatisation of Air Traffic Control.
It is likewise Brown who has pressed ahead with the privatisation of the Royal Mail, the third runway at Heathrow ( opposed by several cabinet Ministers and backbenchers) and the Welfare Reform Bill. None of these is likely to win him much support so, on a purely pragmatic level, why is he doing it.
On Tuesday, as i was waiting to go into a meeting at the House Of Commons, I bumped into a friend of mine who is an assistant general secertary of one of the rail unions. He had just had a meeting with Geoff Hoon and was appalled at his lack of insight and concern on the issues relating to his members. His take was this is a Government which knows it is on the ropes and lacks the will or the sense to turn things round with policies which would appeal to its core vote. I'm afraid I can only agree.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
GURKHAS - ANOTHER OWN GOAL
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5 comments:
very glad to note your mild praise for Blair. Last year you were glad to get rid off him and he was glad to gio after all the backstabbing. I am one of the tribe who always voted Labour following my parents and grandparents but having reached teh age of 60 I can no longer support the party. Todays's UK Polling Blog shows a forecast of 132 Tory maj. I hope so.
My own constituency Labour MP is a complete crook. One of her activists in my ward is a complete Old Labour thug. Why support people like that. Middle England didn't vote Labour. They voted Anti-Tory and for Blair.
Now it seems safe for them (and me) to vote Tory.
Brown is the type of person I've met in real life, he is right everyone else is talking rubbish.
His man management skills are zero, he of course will get all the hangers on around him hoping and praying he can win the next elections. Sadly they must all be thinking now what do we do to get out of this.
Brown said to all of us wait until you see my Vision, sadly the vision he was talking about was a party which seems to want to lose the next elections, perhaps they know something we do not.
But with a leader like Brown I bet the Tories are laughing all the way to the next elections, I know I would be.
The problem is of course it could have been so different, he could have allowed these people into the UK, saying they have served this country well and we look after those that fight for us, wrong footing the Lib Dem's and the Tories, what ever he does now will look like a climb down.
Brown is not a great leader of people sadly.
I don't think anyone has ever doubted Tony Blair's skills as a politician. But Iraq and all that went with it outweighs skills in oratory and strategy. Basically, I think many of us are disappointed that the last 12 years have not delivered what they could have done. Getting it wrong on the Gurkhas is just another unnecessary and stupid decision which alientates even more people.If the Government listened to the Party instead of the Westminster bubble, thiongs would be very different.
In relation to welfare reform it was originally Blair and Blunkett who were its main architects:In Hungary, Blair was cited as calling those on Incapicity Benefits 'layabouts' and that he couldn't believe they got more than people on JSA!(they have more needs, simple really)
But brown is now allowing even more draconian 'reforms' through which will make the UK a different place.
I believe that the Gurkha rebellion will be one of the death nells for the Labour government of Gordon Brown
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