Gordon Brown for PM?

[Wilkolampshade]

I don't know, just watching the Blair/Brown documentary, does anyone think we could/should bring back Gordon Brown as leader of the Labour Party for a shot at P. M?
YABU... Absolutely not, what ARE you thinking?!?!
YANBU.... Why not, how much worse could it get?

[Kendodd]

where are they flocking from

I have read that GB misheard her and thought she said 'where are they fucking from'

True/untrue I guess only GB knows.
I think flocking sounds bigoted.

[Wilkolampshade]

@Onedaylikethis21 Yes, I get the Burnham thing, and he speaks really well too. Also more media savvy than Brown.
After I posted was sat in the bath thinking about this and did wonder if I was just feeling some kind of misplaced nostalgia for some of gravitas in public life. So sick of the froth and stink of current politics.

[torquewench]

• if you commit a crime you’re going to be punished. You better stop.
  
  GD: I don’t think it’s happening in Rochdale...*
  
  
  
  How true.

[weleasewoderick23]

I agree about Andy Burnham, he would be excellent.
When can we have a leadership election 😂

[Wilkolampshade]

Thanks everyone for yr replies btw.

[Jaysmith71]

NO

Terrible PM, sucking up to Bloody Bono and throwing phones at people.

Great Guy. Brain the size of an expensively delayed aircraft carrier. But with all the human resources skills of misprogrammed attack drone kill robot.

[Jaysmith71]

....Margaret Beckett.

Now there's the best PM we never had.

[Daphnise]

He may be a good man. but he made a useless PM, and is just not up to the job.

You might as well ask to bring back Harold Wilson.

[mumof2many1943]

I liked Gordon Brown but it is in the past. A big yes to Andy Burnham.

[sst1234]

He was shocking at managing the economy and create this economy dependent on low wages while benefits being used to subsidize. The structural issues in the economy were exacerbated during Blair/Brown years. The Tories just haven’t fixed them. Nu Labour hollowed out the country in more ways than one.

[Tealightsandd]

Andy Burnham?

Haven't we had quite enough of the stoking division tactic?

[KirstenBlest]

I liked Theresa May.

[daimbarsatemydogsbone]

Interested to know why people thought that Ms Duffy was bigoted; and in that case why Gordon went back and apologised.

[Jaysmith71]

In the words of Gillian Duffy:

"These East Europeans: Where are they all coming from?"

[RJnomore1]

I often wonder what the country would be like now had John Smith lived.

[daimbarsatemydogsbone]

@Kendodd

I agree.
I think GB was massively underrated, he took politics seriously and didn't lie and cheat shamelessly like the lot we have now.
Looking back, I think John Major was under rated as well.

John Major? You cannot be serious.

[daimbarsatemydogsbone]

@Jaysmith71

In the words of Gillian Duffy:

"These East Europeans: Where are they all coming from?"

Doesn’t necessarily come across as the brightest question but how is that bigoted exactly?

[jennytheonionslayer]

I would rather shit in my hands, clap and lick them clean.

Daily.

Until the end of time.

[willstarttomorrow]

I always really liked Brown however he does not have the charisma which now seems to be the most important requirement for a PM. He is a thoroughly decent man who stood by what he believed. He is intelligent, thoughtful and actually cares about making a difference to those who voted for him. Of course he was not perfect and he inherited the shit show Blair left behind.

It is very easy to judge him as a chancellor with hindsight, however I would much rather have him in government than the current populists. Rishi Sunak has probably had the biggest spending spree we have ever seen, except mainly focused on supporting the economy and business. The whole Iraq war debacle has totally deflected all the good that was done when Labour were last in power. I work in child protection the negative impact to vulnerable people when the Tories came into power was literally overnight. They are very successful in pitching people against each other and vilifying poor and marginalised groups. Labour policies such as Sure Start disappeared instantly- a project aimed at giving every child in the UK and equal start in life. Public services have been cut massively and this does impact on everyone.

What the Tories do very well is create apathy amongst the voting public who they do not represent - why bother voting it does not change anything and they are all corrupt and as bad as each other? At the same time they target their core voters at the expense of everyone else. Pensioners and businesses never feel the pain of cuts. Public sector workers who traditionally are not tory voters, have been totally shafted- pay freezes which equate to 20% upwards pay cuts. The rhetoric is we all have cushy jobs, massive pensions and spend most of out lives on sick pay. Oh and we are lucky to have a job. The majority of public sector jobs are quite poorly paid and those in a professional roles such as teachers, social workers etc earn comparatively little for the level of qualification and responsibility compared to the private sector. The pension package etc is a pay off and that has been eroded over the years. Also, if we worked our actual hours (no over time/bonus) everything would fall apart very quickly.

[Jaysmith71]

Not bigoted at all. Brown never had the common touch and could never really engage with ordinary folk. He could only address them as if they were a public meeting, as Queen Vic said of Gladstone.

There is a hilarious clip of his clumsy attempt to do a YouTube video that shows his inability to speak human. He also had a tendancy to assume there was no problem that did not have a very very complicated solution that only he could understand.

[Badbadbunny]

Tax "sweatheart deals" with Vodafone and lots of others.
IR35
Tax raid on pension schemes
Pushing window cleaners and dog walkers to become Ltd companies
Tax credits
Selling our gold reserves

And that's just the tax/finance foul ups from the top of my head.

[Tealightsandd]

@Tealightsandd

Andy Burnham?

Haven't we had quite enough of the stoking division tactic?

There may be problems in the north but it's not one homogeneous place. Neither is the south.

Deprived? Several London boroughs are amongst the most deprived in the country. Then there's Cornwall. High levels of poverty. And look up Jaywick in Essex.

There's also actually a lot of deprivation in one of the richest parts of the country. Kensington and Chelsea is a borough of extremes. Remember this is the council of Grenfell.

London is the epicentre of the public health housing and homelessness emergency. Two thirds of England's homeless families are in London. You don't get more deprived than homeless.

The problems of today's society are not a regional thing. There are people struggling all over the UK.

We need decent national policies and more balance. Less of the hate and division, more actual constructive positive changes.

We need an end to postcode lotteries - be it for public transport, job opportunities, infrastructure, or housing.

The last thing this country needs is yet more campaigns based on stoking division - including race, age, or class.

[LaurieFairyCake]

He was brilliant

Honest, hard working and very accomplished

[coffeerevelsrock]

The structural issues in the economy were exacerbated during Blair/Brown years. The Tories just haven’t fixed them.

Well, to be fair they've only had 11 years...

[Jaysmith71]

The key to Andy Burnham is that speech in front of the Kop:

"There will not be a public enquiry....."

(Crowd boos a lot)

"...There will be a public enquiry. Justice For The Ninety Six...."

(Crowd cheers.)


Pragmatic and sensible, or blows with the wind?

You decide.