Is it time to call in the Generals? Yesterday, Ian Parker-Joseph joked, following Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King’s audience with The Queen (an event without precedent?), that it would only be a matter of time before The Queen invited the Generals in.
Well… she has done just that.. or rather, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup (Chief of the Defence Staff) has popped over to The Palace for a cuppa… or was it more? Perhaps to advise about ‘readiness’? Who knows? Perhaps Her Majesty just wanted an update on The Queen’s Flight or to know if her son ‘Airmiles Andy’ was using any of the aircraft for his important work near foreign golf courses? ?
Today – Ian Parker-Joseph, leader of the Libertarian Party UK, reports:
“Brown and Mandelson are both out of the country, and the signals are coming thick and fast, they are even re running ‘To play the King’ and ‘House of Cards’ on Sky… The madness that is NuLabour and the European project must be brought to and end, quickly. Could Her Majesty be seriously looking to sack Brown and force an election?”
You may think that, Ian – I couldn’t possibly comment…. to borrow a much loved phrase from a particularly venal, albeit fictional, exemplar of the political species.
So, with Dan Hannan MEP ripping into Brown, with Brown being pilloried in political blogs and the dead sea (sic) press, with The City distinctly unimpressed by the offer to purchase £1.75 billion of government IOUs yesterday – is it time for change? Is it time for an election?
Can The Queen do it? YES, SHE CAN?
The queen dissolving parliament on her own prerogative. Makes me realise I should have paid more attention when this cropped on constitutional law.
Dan Hannan – well structured argument, well paced delivery, positive body language, good engagement of his audience but, regrettably, he failed miserably to concentrate on the more important aspects of his advocacy, namely the proper buttoning up of his suit jacket. 10/20. Barely competent. Let’s hope that next time out he pays attention to this hugely vauable feedback (for which I shall waive my usual fee of £14K.)
Charon,
If this is the best the conservatives have, they might as well give up.
The UK’s problems are due to a banking system which relied on wholesale funding provided by overseas institutions.
This has proved a major mistake, but not one that the Conservatives ever pointed out.
All of the things mentioned by Hannan were completely peripheral, and just crude attempts to pin the blame on Brown.
I enjoyed the technical delivery of the speech given by Hannan – but there is more to being an effective politicians, I hope, than an inspired speech.
The content was fairly thin – but it was that type of short sharp sound byte speech.
Wonder if he wrote it himself? But you have to hand it toHannan – blunt, direct and effectively delivered 🙂
I suspect Hannan did write his own speech. Wikipedia (if it is correct, of course) records that he has previously been a speech writer for William Hague, and you can see the similarities. I still cannot envisage the day when I might vote Tory but, on the ground that all politicians are ineffectual trough feeders who will ultimately disappoint, one may as well enjoy the occasional piece of barnstorming oratory regardless of whether you agree with the politics involved.
Charon,
Did Brown have the right to reply? If not, it seems a rather pathetic tactic by Hannan.
James C – it is, of course, quite possible that Mr Hannan will sink back into obscurity or end up presenting daytime TV programmes if he feels the lure of showbix overwhelming.
The trick is to do it not just once, but many times… Tony Blair cd do a good speech… but they got rid of him.
Miond you… Max Mosleys old man could whip up a storm in his day…. if you forgive the appalling pun… but not much call for unelected leaders these days in modern Britain…… hang on… unelected leaders?
[…] The Queen also appears to have matters of State on her mind. Ian Parker-Joseph, leader of The Libertarian Party UK asks if The Queen is thinking of dissolving Parliament following recent trips to The Palace by The Governor of The Bank of England and The Chief of The Defence Staff. Are we to have a ‘Very british Junta?” Charon QC considers the matter. […]