The news last night from the Daily Mail was rather grim. I do not usually read the Daily Mail; preferring to get my news on politics from the main newspapers, bloggers and commentators.
The Daily Mail is serialising former secretary-general of the Labour Party, Peter Watt’s book. The Mail headline…
Brown’s election shambles: Man who ran Labour Party reveals chaos at No 10 in devastating new book
I am assuming that Mr Watt is completely familiar with the law on libel. It is unlikely – given that his charges about the prime minister’s behaviour are serious – he would be anything other than comfortable that he is not defaming the prime minister.
That said, the Mail article makes rather depressing reading for people who support Labour ideals. The Mail summarises the key claims:
In his book, Mr Watt, who resigned as Labour general secretary in 2007, claims:
- Mr Brown’s Cabinet ally Douglas Alexander said the PM’s inner circle wanted an early Election partly because even they didn’t like him – and they feared the British public would soon form the same view.
- The day Mr Brown called off the 2007 Election, denying he had ever intended to hold one, Labour chiefs had a fleet of limousines circling Parliament Square ready to take Ministers on the campaign trail, and had 1.5million leaflets ready to be posted.
- No10 is ‘completely dysfunctional’ under Mr Brown, who runs the country ‘by making it up as he goes along’.
- Sulking Mr Brown walked out of a Downing Street dinner party with US politicians because they sat down without his permission.
The story about the dinner party is rather disturbing. Petulance and childish behaviour is not something one immediately associates with the behaviour of a prime minister in public. ” Mr Watt also highlights Mr Brown’s ‘weird’ behaviour. He recalls the moment the Prime Minister threw a tantrum at a No10 dinner party for US Democrat politicians after guests sat down without his permission…..Mr Watt said: ‘For the rest of the meal he was monosyllabic, sulking because he had lost control of the seating plan…..The plates had not even been cleared when quite suddenly, without saying anything, he just got up and left. “He’s bonkers,” Vilma [Mr Watt’s wife] whispered. She was right.’
This week, Brown managed to see off the Hoon-Hewitt coup, but there was speculation in the press and in the blogs that there is more to come. There may still be more to come.
The Sunday Times reports this morning:
Now Geoff Hoon savages Gordon Brown over Afghanistan war
Geoff Hoon, the former defence secretary behind last week’s attempted leadership coup, is set to inflict further damage on Gordon Brown with the disclosure that the prime minister vetoed the purchase of vital military helicopters.
Leaked ministerial letters reveal how, as chancellor, Brown repeatedly prevented Hoon from ordering life-saving battlefield equipment for Afghanistan and Iraq.
With nothing left to lose, Hoon, who was dismissed as an embittered traitor by Brown’s allies for the failed email plot, has the potential to undermine Brown’s leadership in the run-up to the general election.
The bloggers have long speculated about Mr Brown’s state of mind, his lack of ’emotional intelligence’, the dysfunctional nature of his administration and while much of this may be motivated by political leanings and, in the case of Mr Watt, anger; a picture of a man,who simmered away for years in-fighting with Blair, who is not fit to ‘get on with the job’ is emerging to those many of us who are not privy to the inner world of Westminster.
I find it all rather distasteful. I have no enthusiasm for a Conservative government, but after the events of recent weeks, I certainly have no enthusiasm for a government led by Mr Brown. It will be particularly interesting to hear Mr Hoon’s statement to the Iraq Inquiry… whatever his motivation(s).
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Charon QC 