´óÏó´«Ã½

If you can get anywhere near Broon, that is. Seems you have to be an on-message union member or one of the apparatchiks to get anywhere near him.

Or is he only asking the unions for his prospective mandate? Given that they're doing their best at buying about 200 seats, whats the point in trying to engage the public?

And I'm sure Auntie would be most helpful if Gordoom was put on the spot by an awkward punter wouldnt they, reporting the whole thing as it happens?

I get a funny feeling that should Clegg or Cameron encounter any public resistance/heckling/awkward questions that a certain national broadcaster would have it as breaking news within seconds....

Start preparing your CV's ´óÏó´«Ã½ boys. You'll need 'em to keep you warm when you join the ranks of the economically inactive after this 13 year love-in that you've enjoyed with NL.

Champagne bottles strewn all over Broadcasting House this year on the morning of May 7th??

Doubt it somehow!

Brown being protected by Union reps, well I never. I see the PM still has a Bunker mentality!

This kind of somes up the current British relationship with our politicians.

They don't really want to hear what we have to say.

We don't believe we'll be listened to if we try to tell them.

Welcome to the era of mutual contempt.

I'm bored of the spin, lies & propaganda already, I'm going to read a book for the next month.

Good Advice - I would further suggest that you devise a question for the media and the reporting of the election for the moment when a "Straw Poll" of the "unwashed" is required to back up their opinions

Nick, why don't you ask Mr. Brown some difficult questions? That's what you're paid for isn't it?

It is always the same when Gordon Brown goes anywhere to meet people, they are carefully selected and are told what they may ask him, so it makes him look good, it is a pity Nick that more people from the public are not invited to question him and have freedom of speech to put a proper question to him and then you see him for what he is about a complete waste of public money like the rest of his cronies.

Well what can you say? You've either got it or you haven't. And Gordon has.

Sneaky huh, getting some of the awkward moments out of the way before the hecklers have got into their stride.

Obviously, Nick, you had adavnce notice of this particular foray, since getting to Strood from Whitehall is not a short hop. Did they use a cavalcade of government vehicles to transport El Gordo and his mates, including you, to this political hot spot?

Or did they simply hire a bus?

Either way, why didn't you highlight this on your blog, allowing those of us with time and inclination to get their and give him the clap he so richly deserves?

We look forward to better service tomorrow.

One month to go of stage managed photo opportunities, tractor stats, mud-slinging, gaffs and all that malarky.

Looking forward to it.

Still haven't decided who to vote for this time, for the first time ever. Won't be the current lot on the basis of lack of competence, but the alternatives...

Did flirt with the SNP when that nice Mr Salmond said he wanted a fairer deal for Scotland, Barnett formula and all that, but then it sort of dawned on me that he wanted MORE. Tut Mr Salmond, did you never watch Oliver?

Anyway there's no SNP candidate in Cheshire so all acedemic really...

'A cup of tea fair for all'

What kind of blithering, stuttering atart to a campaign is this? Sitting having a cup of tea with a half dozen workers from Morrison's?

If he's hoping to impress there will be millions out there asking what on earth he said, what was so improtant about these half dozen and how long is ot going to take him to get to the whole country?

It's a typical newlabour publicity stunt; 'Gordon Cares' ... cares enough to trash your pension, not put up personal allowances, get rid of the 10p tax band.... but don't worry; he really cares. About himself.

As for the saintly Sarah sitting by his side feeling prolier than thou about it all - last time we saw her she was hob-nobbing with super models at London fashion week and befoire that in New York organising Gordon's escaoe route.

It all beggars belief that this motley crew can bleat for their survival after thirteen years of patronising and taxation. 'Look at all those schools we built' ... I'm looking and the educational standards on this country are terrible and the schools minister is a documented bully like his boss.

Newlabour looks like more than a tarnished brand now; it looks like a disaster in socio-economic thought control where those it seeks to control have suddenly been given back their powers of reason. To boot them out of office for ever.

Taxi for Brown!

Sanatised questions for Brown and sanatised and primed people to ask them.

Sounds a bit like Question Time. Makes me very dubious about this leader's debate.

Get him up on an orange box in some market place and let the hecklers have a go and see how he responds.

Or could Brown be a coward at heart and be in fear of real political campaigning. We know it's something he doesn't like doing but it would certainly show whether he really is a tough guy or just a ditherer and a bully.

so you are hot on the trail of the ex-pm gordon brown, and the other candidates point of views are where ?

I have difficult questions for GB+CO but R5L do a very good job of making
sure they are not asked

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

Avoiding awkward questions eh? There's a surprise.

What question would I seek to wrong foot Mr Brown with? Where to start! He is so shaky in so many areas (defence cuts, 3 million immigrants since 1997, crime, reneging on a referendum promise, failing to reform parliament) that an 11 year could probably pick him apart on any one of these issues; so it's not surprising that all of Mr Brown's audiences will be heavily pre selected.

#1 I can think of another pale-yellow liquid more appropriate to the ´óÏó´«Ã½ on their political reporting. Perhaps a few bottles sent to them on election night for them to be force-fed with the bitter cup.

Having said that - the article does point out the problem that these days all prospective PMs will be shielded from possible trips, gaffes and awkward questions.

I do suspect that Mr Brown will spend the next 4 weeks being carefully sidelined while the real leader of the party appears on TV.

When is the ´óÏó´«Ã½ going to get Brown in public to answer the questions that we would all like to hear the answers to ? Letting him set the agenda seems to be the modus operandi of most of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ politicos.

7 sagamix

"Well what can you say? You've either got it or you haven't. And Gordon has."
==================================

Not sure what the "it" is you are talking about.

Is it having a sauce named after you ? Brown sauce maybe ?

Nick

Your sentence below seems totally self contradictory :

"This was, though, the only evidence of Gordon Brown's "meetings with the people" being obviously rigged, although the workers the PM met in the canteen here were chosen in advance and the local Usdaw rep seemed confident that none were hostile. "

9. filipinomonkey

"Anyway there's no SNP candidate in Cheshire so all acedemic really..."

=============================

The Sagamix National Party not fielding a candidate in your constituency ? It's all down to that Lord Ashcroft you know .....

Nick

Hat tip to Guido Fawkes, he has pointed out that the crowd cheering GoBro off at St Pancras were Labour party members who had previously been seen in Labour T shirts.



Looking for Dorothy will sum up Labour election campaign, heavily managed and all spin. Who will fall for it?

Your previous post referred to the "images - not the words - that stick in the mind". And so it came to pass.

In this post you refer to "Gordon Brown's election campaign", this time featuring TWO images of Brown 'meeting the people'.

In the interest of fairness and balance are you going to include anything about the two other main party leaders today?

Nick,
"This was, though, the only evidence of Gordon Brown's "meetings with the people" being obviously rigged, although the workers the PM met in the canteen here were chosen in advance and the local Usdaw rep seemed confident that none were hostile"
============
The irony you were aiming for did not come through I fear.

If a pre-selected docile audience who failed to ask difficult (?)questions they had prepared on diffcult subjects is not clear evidence that just like all these events they will be stage managed into sterile photo-ops.

The headline should perhaps have read - Brown went out to meet the people and failed even to manage that!

I thought there was already a law to prevent you asking awkward questions of Labour ministers or does that only apply to party conference hecklers?

Do you honestly think that Gordon or indeed any of his ministers want to meet real people with real questions as opposed to stage manager pr friendly affairs

Is that your new strapline, Robin? ... "Taxi For Brown" ... yes, thought so. And you're quite capable - man like you - of keeping it up for the whole of the next 30 days and nights, aren't you? All the way to the finish line and then some.

Okay, long as we know.