Boris On The McBride Debacle

[TwoIfBySea]

I'm surprised that In The News seems to have died a death of apathy maybe? I've not been around much of late due to a family loss but regardless, I thought this hints of what a dire place British politics is.

Getting a six-figure pay packet from the taxpayer for a job that equates to no more talent than a gossipy fishwife - nice one. Wonder how much Brown has given him as a pay off?

I'm always amazed that you can employ someone to do things like this and then just let them go without anyone blaming you.

I was so pleased when labour got in the first time round. Now I can't tell the difference between one party and the other.

Onager - Labour got in by spreading rumours and gossip about Tory 'sleaze'. This is hardly a new thing for them.

Callisto, they were not JUST rumours though or not all of them. But as I say there's little difference now. It's hardly a democracy any more as they pass the control back and forth between them and laugh at us.

Btw I don't know what to think about Boris, but he writes a good article. When I see him on TV he comes across as naive and not terribly bright, but I find myself liking him anyway. But it has to be an act surely?

What about the Guido Fawkes blog? Is that not doing the same stuff only from the Tories? Am I being completely stupid and naive here but aren't they all at it, the difference being that McBride got caught/leaked? Not that I am condoning it or agreeing with it.

Did TMcB really get a six figure salary? Doubt it somehow. I'd bet it was nowhere near that. Ol' Boris is far from a stranger to a bit of spurious exaggeration.
Yes McBride's an idiot, and he's resigned. Good riddance. But why blame Gordon Brown? He's condemned what McB did. Why is that not enough? It's not as though GB even knew about it - and to say he should have is ludicrous isn't it? Are any of you managers? Do you read your team's e-mails and censor them? GB's made a small mountain of mistakes over the years, but he's pretty straight as politicians go.

But was it a mistake or was that McBride's job?

Absolutely Onagar - they are all as bad as each other. Quite dispicable the lot of them, and they wonder at voter apathy.

As for Boris, he is obviously very well educated with a huge range of knowlege, but I think his 'old duffer' personality is genuine.

Personally, I think Dittany is absolutely right - GB employed him, GB should own the error and apologise. If he was Stuart Rose (for eg) and one of his advisors had done something similar about a business rival, I would think Stuart Rose would issue a personal apology. But GB can't apologise because (in his eyes) he is always right, which makes him blind in certain respects - not a good trait in a leader I think.

GB has written personally to each of the slurred Tories. He's condemned the e-mails. The man's no longer employed. What else do you want him to do Callisto?

Yes, sorry I'd forgotten about writing to the Tories involved, tbh the whole affair is so tawdry that I find myself struggling to feel any outrage at all. The Tories are making such a meal and GB is just too dreadful for words.

All Labour have to do to discredit the Tories is to ask them detailed questions about their policies. In other words TMcB must be very very stupid. Which if he genuinely is such a close advisor does say lots about GB. Still though, an employee's personal e-mails aren't GB's fault. Employing an idiot though most definitely is.

I keep thinking it's going to backfire on the Tories if they keep on about it, as some of the 'rumours' might turn out to be true-ish.

Whether or not the Great British Public cares or not is another matter.....

I think it's brought out into the open how Gordon Brown operates. What ever you thought about Thatcher or Blair, they had a fan base within their own party. Gordon Brown never had that - he rose to power within the Labour Party by bullying and threatening all his opponents. At the same time as he was doing this, Brown claimed he had brought an end to spin and had found his "moral compass".

I accept that all parties engage in smear tactics but I gather that political journalists who have seen the emails say that these reach an all time low.

I never thought I would say something positive about Blair but at least he would have had the smarts to say an actual sorry.

It is so murky, I sometimes wonder what kind of a place my dts are going to grow up in.

Vilette, Brown had as many supporters as Blair. Ed Balls, the Milliband's etc, were and are massive allies who have mostly stayed true. They used to call it the Blair and Brown courts, so polarised were the divisions within the labour elite. Blair was as slimy I think TwoIf. More so, I'd say..

Smee, Brown's support within the Labour Party has always been small compared to Blair's.

An ICM poll conducted soon after John Smith's death among Labour Party supporters found only 12 per cent supported Brown compared to 30 per cent for Blair. Brown was less popular than Prescott (17 per cent) and Margaret Beckett (13 per cent).

If Gordon Brown has stood against Blair for the party leadership he would have been decimated and he knew it.

Brown has had a small coterie of supporters and has held power by thug tactics. Of his supporters that you mention above, one of them, David Milliband, was preparing to stand against Brown last year until he got a bad press during the Party conference - smear tactics from Brown?

Maybe a twelve year old would do a better job Dittany
Vilette - was Milliband really going to stand? I thought it was all a bit of desperate posturing amidst the court as nobody thought Brown was in with a song of winning an election, but then he did that speech at conference that blew him back into control. I know Brown wasn't the top choice after John Smith's death, but so much has passed since then.

I agree Dittany. I had great hopes for ol' Gordon, couldn't stand Blair, and sometimes still I think we glimpse an amazing leader in Brown. Really can't imagine David Cameron pulling off the G20 or anywhere near. Shame about the gossip fest getting out of hand. Apparently he was warned by several to get rid of McBride, but just put him to one side rather than ditching. He really should start to listen more..

Would Labour have been elected if Smith hadn't died though?

I am old enough to remember(and remember Thatcher and the last Labour govt, Callaghan et al, winter of discontent etc) and, much as everyone may dislike him now, Blair was very much seen as 'a breath of fresh air' nice ex public schoolboy etc etc who appealed to the middle England thirtysomething middle class voters who basically swung it for Labour. It all has to be seen 'of it's time' as it were.

I think he'd most definitely have won. He became leader after Kinnock in 1992 and am pretty sure was elected by a massive majority, so was hugely popular. Also '92 was when Black Wednesday struck the Tories down, so he was seen in contrast to their decline as a safe pair of hands. He died in '94 (I think), so three years before the election, but I'm sure he'd have hung on in there if only through being so decent and trustworthy. Big shame.

Interesting blog post (not mine, don't worry )here about Derek Draper and the media being hypocritical about the mental health issue

Ta pwonk, I do love a good blog. Though Draper is such an A grade stirrer, it's hard to take anything he says seriously no matter what hat he has on.