Crewe by-election

[Angus]

Am I missing something or has Gordon Brown gone completely mad ?

Newsnight last night had a clip from 1998 (approx) with Blair saying the class war was over - and this week Labour are outting out leaflets saying the Tory bloke is a toff - despite the fact that the Labour candidate is listed in Who's Who and Burkes's Peerage !

Stunningly inept politically. Does anybody think that any half decent politician would allow this ? If you are going to get beaten, surley the play is to downplay expectations, put up a crap candidate that nobody ever heard of and change the story, but this nonsense................

[jebus]

Brown should never have been given the keys to Labour. Anyone and everyone could see that the British public had grown tired of Blair's era, an era which Gordon Brown is a major figure of, and wanted change at the top. Labour should have given them a new man with new ideas, not the same old nonsense for a thoroughly dislikable politician, especially in light of the rake of political biographies coming in the wake of the Blair era. Instead it doesn't look like there is much to stop the Tories and David Cameron getting into power

[Newryrep]

Brown started off quite well, handled the terrorist attack in Glasgow well, also the worst floods in 50 years , something else major that I cant quite think off (although it couldnt be that major as I cant think of it ), seemed a steady pair of hands, good in a crisis. However, the Inheritence Tax fiasco (in which the tories promised to raise the theshold) totally wrongfooted him/Labour and he lost his nerve to call an early election. Its been downhill ever since.
Cameron is a lightweight and a year ago I couldnt see the Tories make any significant inroads into the large Labour majority. Cameron is still a lightweight but Labour has the smell of decay about them and cant see the tories not winning the next election.*

*which may not be a bad thing long term to have a tory England and SNP Scotland as it could put further strain on the Union, as the Scots do seem to be growing a pair of balls lately and Salmond by all accounts is running rings around Scottish Labour/Scottish conservatives/Liberal Democrats in his minority administration. Also do not underestimate the lengths the Conservatives will go to gain power in England, if it means playing the little englander card/west lothian question, Scots free tutition fees, they will. Interesting times ahead

[pete]

Don't really know why but it is clear the UK voters don't like Brown. With Labour in power so long they probably looking for a change too.

[Réiteoir]

He fecked up over the 10p Tax Debacle, the failure to grant the people of Britain a Referendum on Europe - despite it being an election promise, and is seen by most here as an ineffective and bumbling "leader".

He's basically running scared - and having to resort to this kind of "dirty campaign" to try to hold onto what was seen as a safe Labour area.

Seems now that the Liberal Democrats days as the party of the anti-Labour protest vote are over - the Tories are now seen as a viable alternative...

[d13bohs]

Seems now that the Liberal Democrats days as the party of the anti-Labour protest vote are over - the Tories are now seen as a viable alternative...

And why not, labour mutated into the tories over the last 10 years to the extent that there is no discernible policy difference between them now. I would just like to say to any British voters... welcome to our world! A choice between two rubbish parties with the same ideology

[pete]

Will the British economy save Brown? He was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Blair in what looks like a pretty good 10+ years. Britain looks like can weather the downturn better than most countries?

[jebus]

Will the British economy save Brown? He was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Blair in what looks like a pretty good 10+ years. Britain looks like can weather the downturn better than most countries?

I don't know of any country that doesn't elect people based on soundbytes around election time rather than using common sense (Brown's record in the Exchequer)

[rebelarmyexile]

Good to see a good Tory getting in. Seems like a good chap, has done a lot of hard graft to get the seat.

Cant wait to see Cameron gettin into no.10. Bye Bye Gordon cant see him lasting.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Good to see a good Tory getting in. Seems like a good chap, has done a lot of hard graft to get the seat.

Cant wait to see Cameron gettin into no.10. Bye Bye Gordon cant see him lasting.

What do you expect to see Cameron do differently or better? I can't think of a single area where they'd be dynamically different.

[d13bohs]

What do you expect to see Cameron do differently or better? I can't think of a single area where they'd be dynamically different.

Exactly. They are effectively leading two factions of the same party now. Its just like FF v FG or the Democrats v Republicans. You have a choice between two centre-right parties with the same policies. It all about personalities now, politics as reality tv.

[BohsPartisan]

The libdems are the same as well. Just goes to show, Blair changed Labour into the Tories to make them electable and now they are having the same kind of meltdown that the Tories had in the late nineties.