大象传媒

So - the first thing Gordon thinks of in the morning is how he can protect us all from the credit crunch. Bit late for that, isn't it?!!

This man couldn't lie straight in bed!

Well he could hardly tell the truth could he; 鈥淥h NO I thought it was all just a bad dream鈥� really would spell the end of his days in that particular bed.

Sorry Mr Robinson, but your point seems counter-intuitive to me. Mr Brown should use a more personal language in order to shift the focus away from the personal and onto policy?

Surely he needs to continue talking about 'the job' in order to converse about 'the job'. I do realise that it makes for a rather poor version of the theatre that we (and the media) have become accustomed to Mr's Blair and Cameron, but I rather approve of the change.

KeptPrivate

Great topic, Nick. I was hoping you鈥檇 lead on that. Having a similar personality type to the Prime Minister helps inform me how difficult he鈥檚 finding things but, also, that the more practical and sociable approach will help round him out and make him a more effective. In that respect, I agree, your comment is on the money.

My general view is that the Prime Minister鈥檚 deal with concerned back benchers has helped turn things around. Yes, the Prime Minister needed to be more human but, also, backbenchers needed to develop rational thinking. They did. That鈥檚 a win-win. People aren鈥檛 stupid and will quickly identify the value of this better quality position.

I鈥檝e been frustrated and disappointed by some aspects of the Prime Minister鈥檚 leadership but people recognise his integrity and are returning his wish that they do well. By brushing aside awkwardness and hesitation the Prime Minister will clear his mind and create a space where his leadership and people connect. And that鈥檚 a beautiful thing.

All hail Blessed Leader!

We are both thinking that we could just up sticks and move abroad. We have friends who live in Greece. Their property was a quarter of the cost of ours, their standard of living is very much better - and a lot, lot cheaper, and of course they get good weather as a bonus. With the prospects of a meagre state pension, and being taxed to oblivion while we're still working - maybe until we're 70, this seems like a very viable alternative to us now.

We may as well hand over our pay packets to Gordon and then he can give us back whatever pittance he thinks we can live on.

Nick

The more Brown squirms under the spotlight, the more the public want to know what he is trying to hide (maybe just a vaccum?)

I must admit to be at a bit of a loss as to your consistent, dedicated belief that Brown is 100% sincere -- when someone like Lord Levy can say that he came to beleive that Blair was in politics for himself -- why can't you conceive that the same /may/ be true of Brown?

I too enjoy a delicious bowl of 'Credit Crunch' in the morning.

Charles Hardwidge - what medication are you on?

What is more interesting is what he will think tomorrow morning and the day afterwards having gone through with this interview.

Willl he now wake up each morning and regret that people regard him as someone with ruthless ambition, a complete lack of integrity married with dithering incompetence?

Please put a name to a single successful political or military leader in history who has got anywhere showing such emotional detachment. No wonder he fears elections; he couldn't make an impassioned call to arms if he tried.

I hope Gordon will be seriously depressed by Friday morning. Then he will know how the rest of us feel.

It sounds like that was a better interview to listen to than the rubbish served up on Today by John Humphries.

I switch off whenever a New Labour politician goes into robotic delivery mode and judging by the lack of interruptions I think John Humphries nodded off as well.

Why do interviewers allow their victims to re-gurgitate pre-prepared drivel but then hector and bully those who try to engage in an actual discussion of the topic. The contrast to yesterdays interview with David Cameron should be a huge embarassment to a professional interviewer.

Those 'correct' answers he gives to questions don't really ring true. If I were him I'd be thinking about my own future and how to overcome the disillusionment people are feeling with me,- which is probably what he does think about.

The problem is he seems to be out of touch with his feelings so that you just get this 'talking head' response that people can't relate to - he appears to have had a spontaneity bypass and, as a result, he is very boring to listen to.

I'm sure he is basically a decent man but he should have stayed in the (relative) shadows - what made him think he had the personality to lead and inspire the country?

It's even worse when he starts moralising. He's a book-keeper, plain and simple and accountants don't make good pop stars, which you need a touch of to be PM. Tony Blair must be laughing in his gravy train.

I think Gordon's (silicone) chip needs changing.

So I presume that the answer "I've got to brush my teeth" or "Are the kids awake yet?" is more what should be expected?

To be honest, I'd expect him to wake up thinking about work. I'm in the run up to my final exams at university and I wake up thinking about mathematics - when something occupies your entire day it tends to permeate your brain completely.

For all the media's complaints about Personality Politics with Blair, they don't seem ready to go back to purely discussing the issues now. Is it possible that the pull of making politics more tabloid-friendly is just too profitable? Until jokes about the dour Scotsman stop selling papers, there will be no shift on to discussing his political decisions.

And, out of curiosity, what was the first thing you thought about this morning Nick?

Am I being cynical in thinking that when Gordon proposed the abolition of the 10% band of tax Tony was PM . If there was any adverse reaction then Tony would get it in the neck. As it was there was none and it has caught up with Gordon.Oh dear!
It is also the height of hypocrisy to talk about bankers revealing off balance sheet items what about all the PFI's and Northern Rock liabilities being kept off the National Balance sheet.

Well when I woke up this morning I first thought about the partner of a friend at work who earns 拢40000+ and whose tax bill has fallen by over a 拢100 a month and compared this with my 30p increase.

Then I thought how i'll never vote Labour again!

Nick

Something you might like to ask Brown next time you meet.

When he goes on (oh so sincerely) about lifting pensioners out of poverty...

Ask how many of those poverty struck pensioners became so under the labour administration?

I think you'll find that most of these poor pensioners were working when labour came to power, but are now in poverty because their pensions have been stolen, and Browns endless endless tax tampering have made any long-term financial planning impossible for joe average.

The problem is he seems to be out of touch with his feelings so that you just get this 'talking head' response that people can't relate to - he appears to have had a spontaneity bypass and, as a result, he is very boring to listen to.

Gordon Brown has a similar personality type to Steve Jobs, one of the most charismatic and succcessful businessmen in the world. Al Gore suffered from wooden plank syndrome but found his sea legs and there's no reason why Gordon can't. In any case, over-personalising things is a British weakness. It's better not to take these things too seriously.

I have listened to the interviews of both Gordon Brown and David Cameron on Radio 5 in the last two days.
Gordon Brown claims to have listened and learnt over his months in office. However in the interview this morning he failed to listen to the question posed. He answered a different question. When asked to repeat the question he gave a different question to the one asked by Nicky Campbell. This has become a familiar frustrating issue with many politicians. Gordon Brown promised to ditch spin but seems to be caught fully in it. The best thing that he can do is be honest and open and not roll out the usual political drivel. It would have been nice to hear him say that the first thing that he had thought about this morning was his wife, his sons, Raith Rovers rather than the answer that bored us back to sleep.
David Cameron, on the other hand, when answering his first question yesterday came across much better.
"What would be your priority? - Family". A controversial answer to some which could be unpopular but he stood his ground and defended his position.

I sit on the political fence and make a decision to vote based on what I see and hear. The political wind certainly seem to be shifting in favour of David Cameron.

Gordon Brown should listen and reflect on these two interviews and if I were him I would ditch all my political advisors and go it alone.
He would get much more respect for that approach.

Chris

Im not nu lab, or that keen on Brown, but surely we all see that this was a trick question that Nicky asked. If brown answered (as he did) that his first thoughts were to do with his role as PM (and the mess the economy is in) then nicky pursued the robot angle. Had the illustrious leader given a more human answer... can't I have another 5 mins in bed? what shall I put on my weetabix? why does my child wake me wanting milk in the middle of the night?etc... then nicky would have claimed that the PM was not focused on the task of governing the country.

I listened to the first bit of the Today interview but neither John H nor Brown were attention grabbing enough to make me listen longer in the car after arriving at my destination. 10p tax band has gone, brown was rubbish at defending why it took a year to realise his change's impact on many council/mayoral voters (sorry I mean low earners) but there are pleantyof other issues out there John could have got him on.

It was never likely that Blair's successor would come up to his standards - the probablity of getting two consecutive 'best PMs of the century' are remote. I think the media have just been spoiled; Brown is no worse at presenting himself than were Attlee, Eden, Douglas-Home, Heath, or Major (most of whom I guess the majority of your contributors will never have seen in action). It is sad that the media collectively are more interested in form than in substance, but since by their own admission they are the best media in the world I suppose we will just have to continue to put up with it.

Its not just the inability to communicate - its his one track logic .
He said he abolished the 10p rate because it benefits the rich more .
Which means
a) he only thinks in terms of taking back rather than giving or
b) what affects the rich does not affect the poor.
Either way it means he cannot see the wider picture ( lateral thinking ) or he fails to think things right through .
Come to that he can't have advisers to do it for him either

I agree with brianjames' (comment 12) summing up of gordon. I am married to an accountant and can confirm the stereotype:- good brain, analytical mind, completely straight and honest, very very cautious, completely lacking in spontineity and imagination, lacks ability to plan ahead, has a poor grasp of reality, makes a good number two but lacks top leadership qualities.

And no, my name is not sarah brown!

Nick,

Gordon is keen to stress that he is doing the "right thing" and that he is getting on with the job.

Is it the case that in introducing and then abandoning the 10% tax band, he was wrong? Having come up with a compensation debacle, might he still be wrong?

Was he right to be part of a government that took a decision to invade Iraq because they had nasty weapons? Was he also right when the government downgraded Cannabis, and now appear to wish to upgrade that same drug a short period later?

It seems to me that his idea of right is wrong. However, were he to decide that it is now right that he resign, he might actually receive wholehearted approval, with the exception of Charles of course.

All the best

It sounds like to me that gordon Brown has just opened that first envelope as PM,

Such a missed opportunity. Blair would have milked it brilliantly. "Well I thought this was supposed to be a family show!"

Charles Hardwidge.

Even if Steve Jobs has a similar personailty to Gordon, I'll bet he could make a better fist of running the country than Gordon has.

It was interesting to note that the PM said part of the problem was that the Banks had shifted a lot of the problem loans and debt exposure as off balance sheet activities. This is exactly what Gordon Brown has done. Several billions of pounds of Government risk in Public/Private partnership deals is not listed in Government finances. Also not listed is the 50 billion given to Banks in the last week or so or the money given to Northern Rock to keep it afloat. These potential massive losses are not on the Governments books at all. If only a fraction of them go wrong, the tax payer will have to pick up a massive bill.
Gordon cannot expect banks to act honestly and declare everything, when the Government does not.

Great article by Fraser Nelson in the Spectator about this morning's 'Today' interview with Gordon Brown on Radio 4...


Why didn't Humphrys pick Brown up on any of the blatant lies he told during the interview, yet acted like an attack dog while interviewing Cameron...?

Also, why isn't the 大象传媒 News website reporting the latest exposed Brown/Darling tax con with vehicle excise duty...?

Gordon Brown is suffering from and will continue to be severely damaged by his longstanding reputation for obscuring the true position through vocal verbiage.

On one side, he enjoyed the mass cheers when the 20p tax band was announced, so he must accept responsibility for the problems associated with the cancellation of the 10p tax band. Rejoice in haste, repent at leisure.

The credit crunch - and very real it will become - has its origins in low cost mass debt. Brown has to accept that his borrowing for Govt purposes was about as far removed from "prudent" as is his continuing capacity to "fog" every difficult issue.

Nick,

What Brown says and how he says it is of no interest, however what he has done in the past 10 years is an irrevisible testamony to his incomptence.

I, just a voter, can say what I think about Brown, I appreciate you are in a difficult position and that you have to say something before Thursday's elections.

Why flatter this useless political nuisance by reminding me he is still around ?

Mr Brown needs to learn, and learn fast, that the image of stern guardian of public probity and finances he cultivates sounds fine when things are going well. When they are going badly he'll come across as an unimaginative, worried, fretful technocrat embarrassed by every policy failure.

It's time to admit it. Being the PM is a very very big job. We can't afford to have (sorry Gordon) the 'also-rans' of British politics taking it on. We need to think about making the post of PM electable without the apparatus of a republican constitution.

Gordon Brown is starting to resemble Hitler in his bunker during the dying days of WW2 more and more. He is in complete denial of the effect his policies have had on the disposable income of ordinary people, he is so out of touch with the population upon whom he relies for votes that he will sink even lower in the polls, and does not possess the humilty to accept that he shoulders any blame for the parlous state of the British economy, planning tax changes that will drive even more wealth-creating companies abroad. Trying to place the blame for our current economic woes solely on global influences, after he greedily accepted the credit when he benefited from global influences in more benign times makes him look all the more dishonest and incompetent. To make matters worse, he is surrounded by arrogant lieutenants and incompetent advisors who are unwilling to tell him the truth. It is an environment in which people like the irrepressible Charles_E_Hardwidge, who rational people find hard to take seriously, would flourish.

Brown is a busted flush and the only question that we need to ask now is how much more damage will he do before he is ingnominiously flung from office, and will there still be a United Kingdom worth saving by the time he is? The polling results across England on Thursday should make interesting reading.

So what is important in a prime minister is the ability to answer stupid questions from talk radio presenters to connect to todays shallow, celebrity culture society. I cant remember Margaret Thatcher 'Connecting with the people'.

If the smile is so important. Maybe he could go to the same plastic surgeon as the joker from Batman and Tony Blair. Maybe the Lib Dems could elect a dolphin as their next leader and they would be guaranteed to win the next election.

Now Tony Blair is gone the Blair/Brown soap opera is over. So the media is bored with the Labour party and is resorting to exploiting racial stereotypes(Dour Scotsman) and prejudice. That's what I think this is about.

I think what Gordon is suffering from is called Delusions of Grandeur.

What Mr Brown fails to realise is the people effected worst by the abolition of the 10p rate were already in debt, already skint, and already struggling to keep up with the rising costs of, well, everything.

To say they "didn't plan well enough for the small minority who come out of this worse" is tantamount to an insult. I earn just over minimum wage, and it makes a big difference to me. I cannot beileve he was allowed to preside over a decision which purely taxed the poorest section of society by double the amount.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Quite right Nick. The question remains! Would we vote on charisma, and likeability or someone that delivers.
Did Gordon bring down unemployment, low interest rates, bettered the NHS, and schools, non stop growth in the economy? Yes he did, and as an ex Tory voter, unless we are in the same miserable situation when Cameron brought this country's economy to it's knees, I will still vote Labour, unless the Tories change their fake, phoney leader with someone of real substance like Ken Clarke, as an alternative.

Even if Steve Jobs has a similar personailty to Gordon, I'll bet he could make a better fist of running the country than Gordon has.

Perhaps, but what if Gordon could run Apple better than Steve? Okay, that might be interesting but a celebrity job swap could get boring once the novelty's worn off. Leaders are great but what about the rest of us?

Going back to the original meaning of the word celebrate, it's all about quickening the spirit in others. Gordon's top job is to help people develop the spark within themselves but people also have to be open to it.

People may blame Gordon but how much of that is their own failure and misery cluttering their mind? According to Zen Buddhism, merely by letting go happiness arises of its own accord. If Gordan can gopherit anyone can.

All hail Blessed Leader!

@neek68 - that's odd because I earn over 拢40,000 and due to the NI changes my monthly salary has just gone down

I'm guessing my previous comment will end up getting blocked, so here's a more "friendly" one....

GB is described as having a "towering intellect", but I simply don't see how that can be the case when he doubles the lowest tax rate but didn't understand that it'd effect people on low incomes.

Over the last 10 years I've noticed that Gordon hasn't even got the beginnings of a spark in him, so how he can help people develop any sort of spark within themselves is baffling.

I think the blame lies blame lies firmly with Gordon. This has nothing to do with my own failure and misery cluttering my mind. I was reasonably happy until the taxes, petrol, mortgages and my shopping bill started to go up. Ask my bank manager!

Just watched PMQ's Nick.

Where were you?

Instead we got Kevin Magire who is a known supporter of the Labour Party. At this time, with the election for the Mayor of London and so many local elections tomorrow, I am surprised that you (an employee of an impartial organisation) were absent from your usual position.

Celebrate from celebrare. It means to crowd or frequent. Someone (Sigh!) is confusing it with celer meaning quick etc..

Gordon Brown is quite simply not a people person in my opinion. He is a control freak who shows no sign of being a team player, and has surrounded himself with team of sixth former sycophants who are more interested in managing their own careers than running the country. Their only talents are saying "yes prime minister" and reading the briefing notes rather than engaging in a genuine debate.

Gordon doesn't live in the same world as the rest of us, and has never had a proper job in his life. His PHD was in the Labour Party in Scotland in the earlier part of the last century. That is essentially where his mode of thinking belongs. Nothing to do with wooden plank syndrome or being very dull - he's simply not up to the job.

He is yesterdays man for yesterdays government.

Gordon Brown may be a political heavy weight, but his image is of a brooding manipulator who when presented with the top job does not come up to the required standard. He is no doubt a decent man trying his best, but as we all know trying "too hard" gives the impression of being uncommonly awkward and leads to mistakes - ask any human that! He just apperas to be sneaky.

This Government is a busted flush!
They have wasted so much money and now need to raise more!

What a con trick that last budget was
Only the very wealthy benefited

They can't raise personal allowances without giving them to everyone.

My husband and I both on pensions and aged 61 and 63 have lost over 拢400 between us this year
I cannot see how they are going to recompense us
As for claiming benefits, what an insult!

Roll on tomorrows election results!
Its going to be very interesting to hear what is he going to say on Friday??????????

I heard Gordon Brown on the "Today" programme this morning, and contrasted his performance with that of David Milliband on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday morning.

One was waffling windbag, the other a confident, self assured and personable individual.

Both are undoubtedly intelligent people, and probably competent politicians; but I believe that when it comes to the general election, one would be a handicap, the other an advantage.

So far as I can see, Labour's best chance of avoiding a Majoresque defeat in 2010, or whenever the election comes, would be a change of leader; probably 6 months ahead of the election itself - and Milliband is streets ahead of the competition.

On the Today programme this morning Brown was at his most robotic, churning out statistic after statistic. His personal decision" to withdraw the prisoiners' pay rise, 拢1.50 a week for God's sake, just one day before the London mayoral and local elections, and coming after a long string of fiascos including the 10p band abolition implications is for me the last (Jack?) straw.

Nick

You mention that Gordon Brown does not like talking about himself - I'm not surprised the man is such a bore!

I cannot imagine why anyone would want to listen anyway.

My personal view is that Income Tax is daylight robbery.

Most taxes I can understand us needing to pay, but what exactly does Income Tax pay for?

Taxing us on the right to earn money. It's ludicrous when you think about it.

The problem for Labour is that it's not just the PM who sounds like a drone but the entire front bench. None of them are going to be left with the credibility needed to take over come Friday morning!

How many times do we see them go into GB propelled auto-pilot while gesticulating with a closed palm like a badly trained traffic policeman? Or Gordon playing Elephant with his hand on the desk in front of him. All body language techniques from the '90s that give them away as the spin-addicts they are...

"the real issue here is" = i'm not going to answer your question
"we focus on the long term" = we know we're unpopular and can't seem to do anything about it quick
"the lowest inflation for x years, highest employment since y, the straighest bananas since..." = maybe we can bore you into submission with useless statistics so you'll stop asking pertinent questions
"inflation at 2.5%" = we think you're stupid

sorry, and one final one

"...and that's why what we're doing is right" = we'll take another look at this next week to be sure

In reply to comment 34 - being abused for being Scottish is not racist - using your place of birth as an insult can be upsetting, nationalistic or vindictive, but it is not racist. I've been abused enough times for being black. Furthermore, Tony Bliar was born in Scotland, but I've never heard anyone abuse his nationality. What next, fattism for Prescott?

"The real problem is that because there was a lack of disclosure, because there was all these off-balance-sheet activities nobody quite knew what was happening.

"It was wrong to have off-balance sheet activities and it's right that all these losses be declared. The quicker that is done the better for the financial system."

Eh? All PFI / PPP arrangements are 'off balance-sheet'. Gordon Brown's preferred funding mechanism has allowed him to spend billions on tick for schoolsn'ospitals that we'll all be paying through the nose for, for generations. He is an economic criminal, and history will judge him as the one of the most fiscally runinous leaders in this country's modern history.

The prime Minister is in 鈥榓gony鈥�? Poor lamb. If only he was able to do whatever he wanted with our lives, security, our money and our economy without being troubled with our pesky interference he would be so much happier.

This is democracy. If people think you are an idiot and can鈥檛 do the job, if people think your 'vision' is rubbish because they have more of a sense of reality than you do, if people don鈥檛 think you are 'making the right long term decision for Britain', they will tell you in no uncertain terms.

What will he do next? Refuse elections because we just don鈥檛 get it? (Urm - think EU constitution)

Hypocrites, the lot of them; Brown wants to feel our pain when he inflicted it.

One stealth tax after another, ridiculous recalculation of the inflation number that makes it meaningless, boasting about success but complete denial about failure.

Now the ultimate - soak not just the rich but the poorest of the poor. Then claim we don't understand the breadth of measures taken to help us. I understand higher fuel prices, food prices, council tax bills and mortgages. I understand the complete lack of integrity of Brown. I understand the charisma free zone that is the whole of Team Brown. I understand the intellectual snobbery of the NuLabour brigade.

The supreme irony we all recognise is he's having to pick up the pieces of the mess he created. Even the HMRC data scandal is a direct result of his meddling with the offices of state.

All Labour governments from Atlee to Wilson to Callagan to Brown end up running out of money and the largesse, wastage and boasting comes to an end.

The ZenBuddhist in me says the pendulum is swinging back the other way and the natural governing classes will swing back into power to sort this mess out.

The governing classes are represented by the Conservative and Unionist Party, not the fiscally incontinent U-turning surrender monkey NuLabourites.

Brown has written his chapter in history all right; longest sulk; proudest boasts; biggest illusions; biggest credit bubble; vast wasting of public money and the least successful and most unpopular Labour Prime Minisiter of all time.

Brown has definitely secured his place as a record breaker.

"the biggest mistake - he puts political calculation and self interest ahead of the... national interest"

Well as sound bites go that, from Cameron, I have to say was reasonably effective. And whilst so much is perception, perception from 鈥楯oe Public鈥� influences voting habits. I can really sense 鈥榦ne or two鈥� prospective Labour councillors (or incumbents) cringing at his Radio 4 attempt at justification of the tax changes. I have to say an old adage containing the words 鈥榟ole鈥� and 鈥榮top digging鈥� comes to mind. A lesson?

Surely if he wanted to help the low paid, and that group of pensioners 鈥� 5.3 million in total - increasing personal allowances would have been the way to go. He could have compensating for it across the Budget by leaving the standard rate of Income Tax at 22% and introducing an additional band, a 50% band for high earners.

And here鈥檙e a couple of points for our 鈥榞reat Leader鈥檚 political researchers scanning responses on this blog.

We live in what essentially is a socially responsible society and what 鈥榡ars鈥� most of us off most is receiving poor value for our taxes. We don鈥檛 want a simplistic target driven culture capable of manipulation by bureaucrats, so-called managers and the quango 鈥榞ravy train-ers鈥�. Let鈥檚 try what works in the broader (real) economy - effective managers managing, AND being accountable for their actions, AND the executive defining strategies. Don鈥檛 try and micro-manage.

Ah 鈥� I鈥檓 in full flow now. And don鈥檛 鈥榞reat Leader鈥� attempt to justify all our financial woes on the global economy. Why did the housing market overheat? Might it possibly have had something to do with the 鈥榙owntrodden鈥� middle classes planning for retirement? A retirement not based on going 鈥榗ap in hand鈥� to government agencies for handouts. (Ah, but isn鈥檛 that how we artificially reduce unemployment rates? More Civil Servants.) How many responsible people seeing your ill thought through 鈥榬aid鈥� on dividend tax relief opted to put money into property rather than pensions-based savings?

Finally 鈥極h much vaunted strategist鈥� have you considered doing something about the building Pensions crisis. Does it perhaps concern you? Something I note Alan Johnson effectively slid out of before being 鈥榮huffled鈥�. The current (2007) spend from our taxes on public pensions exceeded that saved in private funds. What are the Treasury projections of that when the 鈥楤aby Boomer鈥� generation of Civil Servants, those who haven鈥檛 already taken generous early retirement packages, retire?

Big Gord鈥檚 apparently got no constructive thoughts on these strategic issues. I wonder if anyone else has?

End of rant!

Neworegor wrote: "What about all the PFI ..liabilities being kept off the National Balance sheet?"
PFI is Brown's 'body under the patio' - one day it will be discovered but by then he will probably be Director of the World Bank or something.

So he finally admitted his 10p tax hike was wrong - that's hardly reassuring given that he adamantly denied it a couple of weeks ago and it's taken the threat of a parliamentary defeat and continuous bad publicity to see it. And the point about the so-called u-turn 'solution' is that it misses out all the people between younger workers and pensioners (self-employed people like me who work hard but are lucky to clear 拢10,000 a year).

Today on PMQs he was like a mad robot spurting out statistics. It's like watching a train crash in slow motion.

The man has lost the place, all of a sudden he's going to listen and learn; after 10 years, you'd think he would have heard and already learnt something.The man suffers from the failing of all politicians, he thinks the electorate is stupid.(it must be , putting up with this incompetent government).For a man who claims "son of the manse" like a cloak of virtue, he has a lot to learn about truth and integrity, two virtues he finds totally alien to his character.This nation fought a bloody civil war in the seventeenth century to get rid of a government that makes his look like a choir of angels.If only an Oliver Cromwell were around today to remove a few overprivileged self seeking heads.

Nick, You haven't mentioned (I wonder why?) the best Humphrys interview this week. Yes, that was with David Cameron on Tuesday. You didn't hear it? Well, you should try to and give us your honest opinion. David Cameron was a complete shambles, despite the most molient I've heard Humphrys for quite a while. Quite simply, David Cameron couldn't take even the calmest of questions without getting quite irrate. The most junior minister in the Labour cabinet would have come out of that interview better than David Cameron did.

I find highly amusing that Gordon Brown insists that off balance sheet financing is not the way forward for the private sector, yet seems to forget all his misgivings when it comes to the great PFI explosion that is being fully funded off balance sheet.
There is no way he can afford to own up to the true state of the Goverments finances.
Does he truly believe that by mortgaging all of our futures, the conclusion will be any different to the current private sector disaster.

I sincerely wish people would stop referring to Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, he is not and will never be a Prime Minister. This idiot couldn't run a corner shop. It's about time he was kicked out of office for the sake of the country his performances on all matters to date have been an embarrassment to himself, labour, the government and the british people in general.

Right, Honourable Gentlemen?

Spot the deliberate mistake(s)!

ATNotts @ 1.12pm
Milliband???

I hear the death knells of the Labour Party tomorrow.

Mr Brown what a sad state of affairs you have left this country in. I think after having so many good years with TB the act is too hard to follow, the shoes monstrously big. Granted TB was no angel he had a charisma to him which allowed him to thoroughly rebuff the Conservatives and Lib Dems (if they ever showed up) agt PMQs. At least he could rally the country in some order behind him.

TB had a vision when he started out to try and benefit the country. Mr Browns vision seems to have been just to sit in the chair. The man is an oaf, he's wound up tight when was the last time anyone saw him casually dressed to seem like one of the general public like TB. All I see is white shirts with red/blue/black ties. Some may say its not important but its psychological to the general public which makes him seem to be and is odd. He neither relates to the people nor wants to relate to the people, and they don't want that.

I just hope Brown doesn't carry on as much as Major did after Thatcher.

Unfortunately I don't think the Conservatives will make these days any better in power. There is no inspirational leader quality there with them. Nothing radical like TBs removal of nationalisation clause from the party.

The nation are hungry for a change I think, but as Gordon Brown has clearly demonstrated; be careful what you wish for.

The problem with Gordon Brown that he thinks he is taking and has taken the right long term decisions for the country, as he constantly tries to convince us (?and him). The reality is quite different and when he announced a huge increase in public spending without any idea as to how this would be financed other than by increased taxation, which he failed to tell us would be the inevitable answer, he was asking us to suspend any rational thinking. Since a large number of jobs he 'created' were 'non-jobs' which would not be wealth creating but just a burden, with associated on costs such as generous pensions denied to the rest of us, it is inevitable that the solids would hit the extractor one day. That day is arriving with a vengeance now.

And as has been pointed out independence for the Bank of England was not so clever since he followed it up by neutering its ability to regulate banks by creating the Tri-partite arrangement which meant that poor lending policies were not controlled properly leading to a boom - and this is the man who promised to end the boom and bust tendencies of the UK economy. Where is the low inflation, stable economy he constantly assured us would be the outcome of his stewardship of the economy?

He is not fit to be our Prime Minister, even if he had a personality!

Did everyone know about the car tax changes next year ? I didn't!

My fairly unexciting mondeo 1.8 LX will have it's car tax increased from 拢165 to 拢260 !

This wasn't clear to me in the budget at all. the treasury say that one third of existing car owners will be better off, which is just another way of saying that two thirds won't be better off.

I suggest everyone checks to see how the changes affect you. This copuld be next years tax row, assuming they are still in power. And do it now, not next year !!!!

Have these guys learnt nothing ? How much longer do we have to put up with this ????

Righteous Aggy.

I smiled when I read your mail.

Gord wouldn't last 5 minutes in a corner shop. Long hours, late nights, very short holidays, bottles of Lambrini and pre-packed food.

He'd have to work hard for his money like the rest of us do. Can't see him doing any of that - can you?

Charles_E_Hardwidge wrote: "Having a similar personality type to the Prime Minister helps inform me how difficult he?s finding things".

Strange, Charles. I put you down as a bizarre sycophant, not at all as a dithering, psychologically flawed control freak.

I've seen some tricks pulled before by various goverments over the years but this 10p tax debacle takes the cake.

The most important question must surely be;why TARGET people earning under 拢18500 ? it makes no sense regardless of what the outcome of the additional revenue.

If you do a few simple sums this amounts to a tax grab of 7 billion pounds as a minimum. It's been reported that 5.3 million people will be caught up to some degree or other. Having checked various salaries against the losses because of the 10p removal, a very reasonable average loss to the 拢18500 salary and under is 拢130 pounds per year. The 5.3 million caught in this trap does not include part time workers, mainly women.

Now I understand that certain sectors of our society will benefit and I have no issue with that at all. The fundamental question is why target specifically these groups of people ? I know we have our problems in this country but I have,and always will, believe in fair play and this, at its most basic level it's just not fair.

The idea that the revenue gained will be used in full is flawed as nobody but nobody knows who gets what and when, especially the worst off.

Maybe it's me and I'm not thinking clearly but it did occur to me that maybe Brown does the tax grab,puts some back, the remainder to his election fund and then next year low and behold there's a tax rebate for all the lower paid before a general election. Far fetched......remember this.

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Nick

When will the media wise up to the fact that the public have now concluded (realised?) that McCavity Brown is a disaster as PM.

Just research and report that, and the nation will owe you a debt of grattitude as it may help hasten his departure.

I never thought the day would dawn when I'd rather have a Tory like Cameron as PM than a Labour man but that day is here...

Not many members of the public are yet aware of the new Vehicle Excise Duty rates and will only become so when they receive a renewal advice from the DVLA.

When they do they will become aware of yet another New Labour stealth tax and will be very very annoyed.

Not a few labour MP's are only now beginning to realise the effect this could have on voting patterns in their constituencies and are becoming very concerned, as well they should.

Is this the next New Labour U-turn. I predict it will be.

The sooner this lot are given their marching orders, the better.

Nick

The latest Brown line "I am taking the right long term decisons for Britain" and I think he genuinely believes this.

The problem is that he also genuinely believes that only the Labour party can be in the long term best interest of Britain.

This, in turn, means he believes that Labour staying in power is in the long term interest of Britain.

Result - staying in power becomes an end in itself and wrong footing the Tories becomes a one of the means of achieving it.

This was the reason behind the 10p tax decision - bad for the lower paid but good for wrong footing the Tories by facilitiating a cut in the basic rate. Ditto the 42 hours thing - take action which is unnecessary and may well make things worse, but use it to wrong foot the Tories with the fear of being labled 'soft on terrorism.'

Fiction - right long term decisions of Britain. Reality - decisions aimed at short headlines and long term interest of Labour.

This is only one manifestation of the consequences of a zealot politicians obsessed by the notion that it is their moral duty to stay in power.

All good knockabout stuff on the face of it - but a dangerous road.

The 'national conversation' in the London-centric world is de facto English-speak.

So it is hardly surprising that that a Scottish professional politician, plying his trade in England, is struggling.

Give up here in England Gordon, and try your luck back in your native Scotland.

Or given that they mostly seem to loathe you up there (politically speaking), I'd guess the good old EU gravy-train is a better prospect.

This is only one manifestation of the consequences of a zealot politicians obsessed by the notion that it is their moral duty to stay in power.

This isn't necessarily true but it can say a lot about the person saying it. It's just a personal view but I believe the Liberals need to grow up, the Tories need to develop some humanity, and Labour have accidently become the natural party of government for a time.

Gordon Brown is a visionary and sensitive man who has long-term burned into his genes. He cannot be what he isn't, and I have some sympathy for the agony this can cause him. But his backbenchers and, to some extent, the opposition parties can assist him in doing better.

Mother Teresa was similar in some ways. I'd largely dismissed her as a kook until I heard her motivation. She believed that the poor deserved to be treated like kings in their dying moments. I believe Gordon has "something of the light" about him. Perhaps, all of us do.

Charles_E_Hardwidge

I would hardly describe Gordon as a sensitive man. Agreed, he does have long term burned into him, but as a meglomaniac who feeds on power and control. I hope he is in agony - particularly tomorrow morning!

Gordon has been lucky over the past 10 years. Nothing has happened to upset the world economy and Gordon has claimed all the credit for it, although it was little to do with his prudence or appointment as Chancellor.

I'm fresh out of humanity. We help everyone expept ourselves, and now we are paying for it.

Mother Teresa was a Saint. Gordon doesn't even appear in the same postcode.

As for Gordon being a visionary - perhaps he needs to go to Specsavers, and, as for being "something of the light", that light went out when he started to plunder our hard-earned pensions!

#77

Charles H

I am not now and have never been a Liberal - small or capital 'L'. More of a pragmatist.

My point is that, in a healthy democracy, mainstream politicians will fight to stay in power but will always recognise that the 'other lot' getting their turn from time to time is better than any single party ruling in perpetuity.

Brown's moral compass tells him that only his party is morally right for the country. I fear he genuinely believes this.

As sure as day follows night, this kind of belief will lead to the most dubious of actions being justifed as the necessary means to stay in power - the morally justifed end. And the longer in power, the more pronounced the behaviour.

I have a wee bit of difficulty with your Mother Theresa/ Gordon Brown comparison - though he might be more at home and less of a menance in a monastery or manse than in Downing Street.

The problem with Gordon isn't that he doesn't believe in his moral compass - but that he does.

Mother Teresa ?????!???

Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards more like - another supposed high flyer heading to earth with a bump.