| Author | Message | | gchq | | Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:59 pm Post subject: Brown's backers accused of Blears smear |
| Brown's backers accused of Blears smear
The Guardian
03 Jun 2009 14:29
• Report claims resignation due to new expenses revelation
• Downing Street tried to 'blacken' Blears's name: source
Gordon Brown's allies were accused of smearing Hazel Blears today after a report appeared claiming that her departure was prompted by the prospect of another embarrassing expenses revelation.
At prime minister's questions, the prime minister lavished praise on Blears, saying that she had done "great work" as communities secretary.
But, as soon as prime minister's questions was over, a story appeared on the Daily Telegraph website saying that Blears's departure was "partly triggered by the discovery that she had allegedly avoided paying capital gains tax (CGT) on the sale of another property".
Last month Blears agreed to pay £13,000 to HM Revenue after it was revealed she had sold a flat in London that she had designated as her second home for the purpose of claiming parliamentary expenses but which she had designated as her main home for tax purposes – enabling her not to pay CGT.
Blears did not break any rules. But all the main parties now say it is unacceptable for an MP not to pay capital gains tax on the sale of a property part-funded by parliamentary allowances.
The Daily Telegraph story said that Blears avoided paying capital gains tax twice, not just once, and that the £13,000 covered the cost of unpaid capital gains tax on two properties. The article also claimed that Blears was "concerned that it might be disclosed that there was another property deal from which she gained".
But a source close to Blears denied this was a factor in her resignation. He said Blears had made it clear in a statement published on her website two weeks ago that the £13,000 related to unpaid tax on the sale of two properties.
In her statement on the website, Blears referred to selling properties in Kennington and Shad Thames and said that she had written a cheque to the Inland Revenue "for the equivalent amount had I been liable for capital gains tax when I sold the flats".
The source said Brown's allies were to blame for the story. "Downing Street waited until after Hazel had announced her resignation and then they tried to blacken her name. The spirit of Damian McBride lives on," he said.
McBride was the Downing Street spin doctor who resigned earlier this year after it was revealed he had written emails containing untrue and offensive allegations against senior Tories.
Grant Shapps, the Tory housing spokesman, also accused Downing Street of trying to smear Blears. "Number 10 does not seem to have changed," he said on Radio 4's The World at One. | |  | | gchq | | Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 2:39 pm Post subject: MPs' expenses: Ten worst moments caught on film |
| MPs' expenses: Ten worst moments caught on film
If there's one requirement for being a good politician these days it is being able to perform in front of the cameras and microphones. It's a pity, then, that nobody told this lot. Here's our top ten list of the most excruciating broadcast performances on the scandal so far...
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 10:39 pm Post subject: Nobody told me there’d be days like these |
| Channel 4 News
This is one of the most bizarre domestic political days I can remember. Far more uncertain than the day when Maggie Thatcher resigned.
Hazel Blears, the communities secretary, has resigned from the government. So we’re confronted with a situation in which the minister for local government has left her job on the eve of critical elections – for local government.
Even more curious is that La Blears is making a magisterial progress home to Salford, in some ways both the victim and the heroine of present times, whereas in reality her behaviour over flipping second homes and failing to pay capital gains tax on TWO homes that she sold (according to the Telegraph) renders her arguably one of the worst offenders in the whole of the government.
She was somebody about whom David Cameron asserted in the Commons today should have been fired weeks ago.
Tonight Gary Gibbon will be wrestling with events and consequences.
READ GARY GIBBON’S NEW POLITICS BLOG: www.channel4.com/garygibbon
Blears exit triggers Labour civil war: http://bit.ly/13hSwp
I suppose we can safely say Gordon Brown will survive until seven. But his chances of staying very long at Downing Street seem to be shortening. Victoria Macdonald is inside the Commons, judging the mood of despair and confusion.
I shall be coming to you live from the green sward outside parliament and will be talking live with Jack Straw (justice minister responsible for constitutional reform etc) and many others, at seven.
SNOWBLOG
‘A spectacle we have never seen before’: www.channel4.com/snowblog
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:15 pm Post subject: Gordon Brown fights for political life |
| Gordon Brown fights for political life amid local and European elections
The Telegraph
04 Jun 2009
Voters are going to the polls in local and European elections that could seal the fate of Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister.
A YouGov poll for The Daily Telegraph today suggests that Labour could
finish third in the European elections, behind the Tories and the
UK Independence Party. Photo: AP/PA
Polling for the elections began at 7am this morning, and the results could lead to the Prime Minister being ousted by his own party.
Labour MPs who are unhappy with Mr Brown’s performance and fearful that he will lead them to a general election defeat are organising attempts to remove him.
Some of the plotters say the final straw was Mr Brown’s response to the Daily Telegraph’s revelations over MPs’ expenses.
Four ministers, including Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, have said they are resigning from the Government, and some MPs believe more could follow them.
A letter is circulating among Labour MPs seeking support for a message to Mr Brown asking him to step down for the good of the party and the country.
The organisers say they will not launch their attempted coup unless they get 50 signatures and the outcome of today’s elections will be vital to determining whether enough MPs are prepared to sign on.
Amid signs that the election results – which will be announced tomorrow and Sunday – will be dismal for Labour, Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, has urged Labour MPs to stick with Mr Brown.
Lord Mandelson accepted that the expenses scandal was hurting Labour, but insisted all parties were affected.
In a direct appeal to Labour MPs, he said: "Don't please, through your actions, make it any worse for the Labour Party than for the other parties who have all got to come to grips with this crisis affecting British politics."
A YouGov poll for The Daily Telegraph today suggests that Labour could finish third in the European elections, behind the Tories and the UK Independence Party.
The poll puts the Tories on 26 per cent, UKIP on 18 per cent, and Labour on 16 per cent. The Liberal Democrats got 15 per cent.
In the local elections, Labour could lose control of the last four major county councils it holds, all former strongholds in northern England. The party also risks losing half of the 445 council seats it is defending in what would be its worst election defeat since 1977.
Most council results will be declared on Friday, and the European elections will not declare until Sunday night, meaning it will be three more days before the full facts of Labour’s performance are known.
But some of Mr Brown’s critics are set to increase the pressure on him as soon as the polls close at 10pm tonight,
Lord Falconer, who was Tony Blair's Lord Chancellor, yesterday said he supported Mr Brown "as we go into an election" but declined to say if his support would continue afterwards.
Several other senior Labour figures, from both the party's left wing and the Blairite faction, are understood to be ready to voice public criticism of the Government's performance once the polls close.
To shore up his position, Mr Brown has been calling backbench Labour MPs to canvass their opinions about the future of the party.
He is also planning a make-or-break reshuffle – possibly as early as tomorrow. He is still considering replacing Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, with his close ally Ed Balls.
However, it was suggested by friends of the Chancellor last night that Mr Darling would not accept another job and could walk out of the Government if he is removed from the Treasury.
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, has also said he does not want to be moved from his current post.
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:52 pm Post subject: James Purnell quits the Cabinet, Gordon Brown on the brink |
| James Purnell quits the Cabinet, Gordon Brown on the brink
The Telegraph
04 Jun 2009
James Purnell, a leading member of Gordon Brown’s Government, sensationally resigned from the Cabinet last night and warned the Prime Minister that he should stand down to stop Labour’s inevitable election defeat.
James Purnell Photo: EDDIE MULHOLLAND
It is a serious blow to Mr Brown and comes after two other Cabinet ministers walked out earlier this week.
Mr Purnell, 39, told The Daily Telegraph that his move was not “a plot” and that he had not told other Cabinet ministers that he intended to stand down.
However, his exit could open the floodgates and lead other MPs and ministers to demand that Mr Brown goes.
Mr Purnell said he would not be a candidate in any leadership election.
His resignation, announced as polls closed for local and European election results that are expected to be disastrous for Labour, came after senior backbench MPs began organising to oust the Prime Minister.
The departure of Mr Purnell, an avowed Blairite and possible future leader, follows the resignation of Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary. It will dramatically shorten the odds on Mr Brown being removed by his own party in the coming days.
Mr Purnell told Mr Brown in a letter: “We both love the Labour Party. I have worked for it for 20 years and you for far longer.
‘‘We know we owe it everything and it owes us nothing. I owe it to our party to say what I believe no matter how hard that may be. I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more not less likely.
‘‘That would be disastrous for our country. This moment calls for stronger regulation, an active state, better public services, an open democracy. It calls for a Government that measures itself by how it treats the poorest in society. Those are our values, not David Cameron’s.
‘‘We therefore owe it to our country to give it a real choice. We need to show that we are prepared to fight to be a credible Government and have the courage to offer an alternative future.
‘‘I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our Party a fighting chance of winning. As such I am resigning from Government.
‘‘The Party was here long before us, and we want it to be here long after we have gone. We must do the right thing by it.
“We need to show that we are prepared to fight to be a credible government and have the courage to offer an alternative future. I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our party a fighting chance of winning.”
He continued: “My actions are my own considered view, nothing more. If the consensus is that you should continue, then I will support the Government loyally from the backbenches. But I do believe that this question now needs to be put.”
He also thanked Mr Brown for “the privilege of serving” in his Government.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister is disappointed by the resignation of James Purnell, of which he was informed shortly before 10 pm.
His focus over the coming days will be on restructuring the Government on the big challenges facing the country for the future: how we guide the economy through the downturn and strengthen it for the future; how we push ahead with reform of and investment in our public services; and how we renew trust in our democracy and Parliament.
He will continue to give his undivided attention to addressing these great challenges facing our country and putting the interests of the British people first and foremost.”
As Mr Purnell made his announcement, another senior Labour figure openly called for Mr Brown to go.
Barry Sheerman, a senior Labour MP, called for a ballot of MPs to decide on Mr Brown’s leadership.
He said: “There is widespread disenchantment about this leadership.
“He has come out lacking. I think we are going to have a vote and we are going to have a new leader.”
Mr Purnell delivered his resignation letter to Mr Brown at 10pm.
Even as Mr Purnell was making his move, another minister who had been talked of as another possible departure was making clear she will back the Prime Minister. Caroline Flint, the Europe Minister, is a close friend of Miss Blears, and had implicitly criticised Mr Brown for his treatment of her.
Widespread Westminster rumour had suggested that Miss Flint was set to resign last night.
But in the event, she made a public statement declaring her support for Mr Brown.
She said: “I am staying in the Government. I am very proud to be in the Labour Government, I am very proud to be part of Gordon Brown’s Government.”
Miss Flint’s decision triggered speculation that she has been offered a promotion in the coming Government reshuffle. However, that reshuffle has been thrown into chaos by Mr Purnell’s move. If more ministers resign or refuse to be moved, Mr Brown’s already extremely fragile position is likely to become unsustainable.
Earlier this week, it emerged that some unhappy Labour MPs were organising an email campaign to oust Mr Brown.
Graham Allen, one of them, told The Daily Telegraph that Labour has to “listen to the electorate” and ditch the Prime Minister.
Despite the efforts of plotters like Mr Allen, some MPs had believed there was still not enough support for an attempt to remove the Prime Minister, arguing that only a formal challenge from within the Cabinet would be enough. Mr Purnell’s resignation last night emboldened many would-be rebels.
One former minister said: “This is it, this is what we need. Gordon cannot survive now. He will be gone by Monday.”
Mr Purnell will hope that others join him but equally he has told friends that if they do not he will still not regret his move.
As a key ally of Tony Blair Mr Purnell has long been considered, along with David Miliband, the true keeper of the New Labour project.
He has been talked about as future party leader but his supporters among the rank-and-file Labour MPs are few.
David Cameron said: “In a deep recession and political crisis we need a strong Government. Instead we have a Government falling apart in front of our eyes. Britain deserves better than this.
“With this resignation the argument for a general election has gone from being strong and powerful to completely unanswerable.
“For the sake of the country Gordon Brown must take the one final act of authority left open to him, go to the palace today and call the general election we have been demanding.”
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:43 pm Post subject: Get Gordon: the backbench rebels with a single cause |
| Get Gordon: the backbench rebels with a single cause
The Independent
05 Jun 2009
Labour's conspirators believe 100 MPs are ripe for revolt
When you are plotting to sack your leader, it is important that you are seen to be doing your duty. The proper thing for Labour MPs yesterday was to be out on the doorsteps, trying to persuade voters to head for the polling booths.
As MPs fanned out around the country, Westminster's corridors and bars – where plots are traditionally hatched and abandoned – were deserted. And what had previously been a conspiracy by email turned into a conspiracy by mobile phone.
In between conversations with hostile voters, the plotters had their ears clamped to handsets, encouraging wavering backbenchers to rebel.
In most places, the electors' reaction was utterly discouraging for Labour, as people who have turned out for the party in election after election refused to make eye contact and became strangely evasive about their voting intentions.
As the voters blew cold, the conspiracy heated up. "I have found people shifting their view about Gordon," one of the conspirators told The Independent yesterday, after a series of telephone conversations with fellow MPs about what they were hearing from the voters. "They are saying we are not going to survive unless there's movement at the top of the party."
He added: "There's a huge level of dissatisfaction not just in the PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party], but in the wider party as well. There are over 100 MPs dissatisfied with our direction. Whether they are willing to put their heads over the parapet is another matter."
One former minister who wants to see Gordon Brown replaced by Alan Johnson said: "It's just awful to campaign for Brown when you have got no belief in him.
"People are coming up and saying we should have got rid of him last year. But Brown doesn't care about the party – he only cares about himself. He is delusional if he doesn't realise what's going on."
Another ex-minister said: "I don't think that Gordon can survive now, and I have signed the letter calling for his resignation. I think there will be a sufficient number of names to force him to step down."
He said he had been approached for his signature by the former home secretary Charles Clarke, but added that Mr Clarke is not acting alone: "There are lots of people collecting names."
The plan is still to present the Prime Minister with a letter bearing the signatures of at least 50 Labour MPs, calling on him to resign. The malcontents want to hand it over as early as today, but could hold back until Sunday, after Mr Brown has returned from the D-Day anniversary celebration in Normandy.
No one expects the letter, on its own, to drive Mr Brown out of office, but the conspirators hope it will act as a catalyst that will induce the Cabinet – notably Jack Straw or Alan Johnson – to tell him that he has to go.
One conspirator, speaking with the sound of an election loudspeaker in the background, said: "While the peasants will continue their revolt with their pitchforks, the real people who need to step up to the plate are Cabinet ministers. We need people with courage and conviction to come forward.
"There are a huge number of people in the Parliamentary Labour Party who want to ensure the leadership issue is dealt with speedily and respectfully."
Gordon Brown's allies have already given the rebels notice that, no matter how bad the results of yesterday's vote prove to be, the Prime Minister intends to stay on. In an attempt to get their retaliation in early, the Chief Whip, Nick Brown, gave out the names of MPs he believed were implicated in the plot.
One of the names they gave out was Paul Farrelly, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, who said yesterday that he had neither signed, nor even seen, any letter calling on Mr Brown to resign. He suspected that the reason he was named was that Mr Brown, who has been personally ringing backbench Labour MPs asking for support, had called him twice, but he had not returned the call because was busy with a last-ditch effort to try to save Labour from losing control of Staffordshire Council.
Furious, he said: "This is yet again bad behaviour by the clique around Gordon Brown. They never learn, and it's totally unacceptable. They should really reflect on whether they are fit, morally and in practice, to lead the Labour Party. They have learnt nothing from the Damian McBride fiasco in shoving names out indiscriminately just because some people may be privately critical of the Government or of government policy.
"It's a bunker and siege mentality that will lead the Labour Party off a very steep cliff, and things have to change quickly."
Two others named by Downing Street, the former Cabinet ministers Alan Milburn and Stephen Byers, were also not involved in the plotting, since both were on separate business trips in the Middle East yesterday. Mr Clarke, who is one of the instigators, was not on Downing Street's list of suspects.
John McDonnell, a left-wing Labour MP, also complained yesterday about "dirty tricks" orchestrated in Downing Street. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr McDonnell said: "I am writing to ask you to ensure that your office desists from this briefing activity. It is not my style to undertake this type of covert attack on a colleague."
And the powerbrokers who will determine if they succeed
Jack Straw
The Justice Secretary is the most senior of the "men in grey suits" who could tell Gordon Brown to quit for the good of the party. Friends say he has no intention of doing that. But the oldest Cabinet member is famous for sensing which way the political wind is blowing. Were he to tell Brown his time was up, the PM would find it impossible to ignore him.
Alan Johnson
It is said that in politics the assassin never inherits the crown, so as the man most likely to succeed Gordon Brown the Health Secretary will keep well away from any move to force him out. "He is doing the job and there is absolutely no one who could do [it] better," Johnson said, even as plotters were collecting signatures calling on Brown to quit.
Alistair Darling
The Chancellor has been a good friend and ally of Brown for many years but it is said that he will refuse to be moved to another Cabinet post, forcing Brown to keep him where he is or sack him. Brown has to assert his authority over his Cabinet if he is to survive. His old friend could be the obstacle that makes the reshuffle go horribly wrong from the start.
Jon Cruddas
Although the Dagenham MP has never been a minister, he has a strong following in all sections of the party. Were he to stand as a stalking horse candidate – a plan his allies deny – he could win support from dozens of backbenchers with his bid to reconnect with grassroots voters. Given the turbulence in Labour ranks, he could even win the top job.
Harriet Harman
The surprise winner of the Labour deputy leadership contest is among the party's most powerful figures.
Her close links to Gordon Brown make it almost certain she would not deliver the "black spot", but she would be well placed to relay to him the despair among backbenchers. Could that message persuade Brown to quit?
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 1:31 pm Post subject: Gordon Brown reshuffles Cabinet |
| Gordon Brown reshuffles Cabinet
The Telegraph
05 Jun 2009 13:49
Gordon Brown is reshuffling his Cabinet as a desperate bid to reassert his authority following the resignation of four senior ministers in a week.
* Alistair Darling will retain his job as Chancellor after Mr Brown backed away from plans to replace him
* John Hutton, the Defence Secretary, is resigning for personal reasons
* Alan Johnson, viewed as one of Mr Brown's main rivals, will become Home Secretary
* David Miliband will keep his job as Foreign Secretary after criticising opponents of the Prime Minister
* Lord Mandelson will have his brief as Business Secretary expanded to cover skills and science
* Yvette Cooper will take over at the Department of Work and Pensions
* James Purnell has insisted he has no regrets after his dramatic resignation last night
* Labour could be heading for their worst results in a generation, according to early counts from local elections
Mr Hutton became the fourth Cabinet minister to quit this week, announcing his decision barely 12 hours after Mr Purnell quit as Work and Pensions Secretary.
While the timing of his announcement comes at an intensely difficult time for the PM, Mr Hutton insisted he remained supportive of Mr Brown and sought to distance his decision from that of Mr Purnell. He said he wished to leave Government and Parliament for personal reasons and is expected to pursue a career in business.
The Prime Minister sought to regain the initiative by announcing new appointments to his Cabinet.
Alistair Darling, widely expected to make way for Brown-ally Ed Balls following the exposure by the Telegraph of his expense claims, clung on to his position as Chancellor.
David Miliband managed a similar feat after sending a clear message to his party's dissenters: "Today is a day for working, not resigning and that's what I'm going to do," he said.
Another potential Labour leadership candidate, Alan Johnson, was bought off with the job of Home Secretary, replacing Jacqui Smith who became another victim of the expenses scandal this week.
Some Brown loyalists also benefited, with Yvette Cooper heading up Work and Pensions, while her husband, Mr Balls, remains Children's Secretary.
John Denham becomes Communities Secretary while Sir Alan Sugar joins the Government as "Enterprise Tsar".
Lord Mandelson told Sky News that he was 100 per cent sure that Gordon Brown would be in charge of the Labour party at the next election and denied there was a Blairite plot.
"I know what's going on among the Blairites. We are going along with all the others in government in a single united team".
However, Tory leader David Cameron seized on signs of a split within Labour to renew his calls for a general election.
"I think the whole country will be thinking 'We deserve better than this'," he said.
"We need a Government that is strong, that is united, that has purpose. Instead we have a Government in complete chaos.
"I believe that all roads now should lead towards a General Election.
"Just ask yourself 'Do you think there is anyone in this Government today thinking about what their job should be about... or do you think they are just thinking about their own selfish political future in the Labour Party?'
And some Labour backbenchers joined Mr Purnell in openly urging Mr Brown to step aside.
Nick Raynsford, former London minister said: "I personally have considerable respect for Gordon Brown but his leadership is now so seriously damaged that I can't see the likelihood of him leading Labour successfully into the next general election.
"It's now appropriate for the party to look for a new leader.
Asked when the Prime Minister should step aside, he added "It's a matter of days rather than weeks."
In a letter released to the media, Mr Purnell urged his former boss to stand aside to give Labour “a fighting chance”
“We both love the Labour Party. I have worked for it for 20 years and you for far longer," he wrote.
“I owe it to our party to say what I believe no matter how hard that may be. I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more not less likely.
‘‘That would be disastrous for our country. I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our Party a fighting chance of winning.”
Despite a barrage of criticism from other ministers, Paul Farrelly, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, described Mr Purnell's resignation as "courageous".
"I'm not particularly close to him personally or politically, but I think what he's done is a courageous act, and reluctantly and very sadly his assessment is correct," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
"There have been too many mistakes and misjudgements over the last two years, so in the interests of the country and the Labour Party I think Gordon must really consider his position."
The infighting within the party comes after Labour started haemorrhaging council seats in local elections. Early results showed the Tories making swift gains in key areas including Somerset.
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 3:06 pm Post subject: Hoon quits in cabinet reshuffle |
| Hoon quits in cabinet reshuffle
BBC
05 Jun 2009 14:38
Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon has become the third cabinet minister to walk out of government in the past day.
His departure follows John Hutton who quit as defence secretary and James Purnell who resigned as work and pensions secretary on Thursday.
But no ministers have so far backed Mr Purnell's call for Gordon Brown to go.
The prime minister is reshuffling his top team - with Alan Johnson becoming home secretary and Andy Burnham moving up to succeed him at health.
Bob Ainsworth becomes defence secretary and Peter Hain returns to the cabinet in his old job of Welsh Secretary.
Universities Secretary John Denham succeeds Hazel Blears as communities secretary and Yvette Cooper is expected to replace Mr Purnell as work and pensions secretary.
Mr Hutton said he thought fellow Blairite minister James Purnell had made "the wrong decision".
"I'm standing down from the cabinet today because I'm leaving frontline politics," Mr Hutton told the BBC.
"I'm not going to be contesting my seat in the next general election and I think it's absolutely right that Gordon, who I'm supporting as our prime minister and party leader, should have a cabinet that's going to take him through the next election and beyond."
He denied that as the fourth cabinet minister to quit in recent days he was "leaving a sinking ship".
Alan Johnson, touted by some backbenchers as a possible leadership challenger, said he backed Mr Brown "to the hilt" to continue as prime minister.
He said he would "never say never" to becoming prime minister at some point, but insisted he could see no circumstances at present where he would mount a bid for the job.
He insisted that Mr Brown was "absolutely the best person for this job" and took a swipe at Mr Purnell, saying: "It is a difficult job at the best of times and it is not a job that his own colleagues should be making more difficult through their own actions."
BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said Mr Hutton's decision not to attack Mr Brown - coupled with Mr Johnson's loyalty - had shored up his position as prime minister.
Election losses
But Gordon Brown was not getting the reshuffle he had planned a week ago, he added.
Alistair Darling had turned down a move to the Home Office and Mr Purnell had been "sounded out" about the job of education secretary, which would have paved the way for Mr Brown's ally Ed Balls to become chancellor, but that was not now going to happen.
Mr Balls is expected to remain as schools secretary, sources suggest
And Labour is still bracing itself for further bad results after heavy losses declared so far in English local elections.
According to the BBC's projected share of the national vote at a general election, based on the results in so far, the Conservatives would poll 38%, the Lib Dems 28% and Labour would be third on 23%.
Cabinet ministers have lined up to back Mr Brown and criticise Mr Purnell's surprise call for Mr Brown to quit, with none so far indicating they were ready to follow his lead.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband, seen as a political ally of Mr Purnell, said he was "dismayed" by the move, adding: "I think he is a big loss to the government but I don't share his judgement."
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said he "regretted" Mr Purnell's decision to quit but said he had done so because "he did not like the face of the man at the top" rather than through any policy differences.
"He has made an electoral calculation and I think he has got it wrong. The rest of the cabinet is behind the prime minister," said Lord Mandelson, who added that Mr Brown was the "biggest figure in British politics to lead the country in the face of very difficult times".
Sugar backing
Harriet Harman also joined in the criticism of Mr Purnell: "If James Purnell wants to make his decision to leave the government, then that's a matter for him, but he's not entitled to say that the prime minister has to go too, and he's not going to."
Business tycoon Sir Alan Sugar, who has been appointed an "enterprise tsar" in the reshuffle, also backed Mr Brown saying: "We are in an emergency situation as far as the economic conditions go... I can not think of a better person to be in place."
One group of Labour MPs have told the BBC they may delay their plans to circulate an e-mail gathering support for Mr Brown to quit.
But some Labour backbenchers and senior figures in the party, including former chairman of the Parliamentary Party Lord Soley, have said there has to be a change of leadership.
Senior Labour MP Barry Sheerman told BBC News he wanted Mr Brown to stand down and predicted many of his backbench colleagues would vote that way if they were "liberated by a secret ballot".
Conservative leader David Cameron and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg repeated their calls for a general election.
Mr Cameron told BBC News the government had "lost the right to govern," adding: "We have a government in complete chaos. We really do deserve better than this."
Mr Clegg said Mr Brown's future as PM was "irrelevant" because the Labour government was "finished" and had "run out of road".
'Disastrous'
"The Labour Party has no right, at a time when people are crying out for help, to hold the country to ransom with its own splits and infighting," he added.
Mr Purnell's resignation came as the polls closed on Thursday for the European and English local elections.
In a letter published in several newspapers, the work and pensions secretary said he was not seeking the leadership but told Mr Brown: "I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely. That would be disastrous for our country."
It comes after the resignation of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and two junior ministers.
Labour is, meanwhile, waiting for more English local elections results to be declared - with those so far suggesting they could be among the party's worst.
Recriminations have already begun, with John Prescott blaming Harriet Harman, his successor as Labour's deputy leader, for running a "non-campaign" and accusing her and other cabinet ministers of being "resigned to defeat".
In a strongly-worded broadside on his Labour Home blog, Mr Prescott also singled out elections co-ordinator Douglas Alexander, Europe minister Caroline Flint and former Local Government Secretary Hazel Blears for heavy criticism.
John Prescott warned that the Labour Party should not blame the results solely on the expenses scandal but also on senior ministers' "dereliction of duty".
And he attacked Mr Purnell over his decision to quit the cabinet, saying he was "not so much a Blairite as a careerite".
The results of the European election, which was also held on Thursday, will start to be published from 2100 BST on Sunday.
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 10:43 pm Post subject: Not a reshuffle, more a plugging of the gaps. |
| Channel 4 News
Gordon Brown appears to have had a considerable struggle to find three men and one woman to appoint as full Cabinet members. Two of them ex-Cabinet members, and one of them a peer.
There are no new young MPs appointed to the Cabinet whatsoever. There is no sense of freshness about the Cabinet. And unable to find another Mandelson moment (the uplift gained from his surprise reappointment), Brown has had to lard Mandelson with both more responsibility and a new title: first secretary.
The number of women is down, the number of peers is up, and he was unable to find a first-flight politician to take over the Ministry of Defence. It has all the appearance of an unhappy ragbag Cabinet.
Tonight we’ll be broadcasting from Westminster, talking to key players and trying to work out whether Mr Brown’s self-reshuffling Cabinet gives the prime minister any greater credibility than he had when he woke up this morning.
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The prime minister described his reshuffle as calm and orderly. It’s probably fair to say that's a surprising opinion. We'll have all the latest from Westminster – we'll talk to a former Labour minister who still professes loyalty to Mr Brown, and we'll look in particular at Gordon Brown's professional relationship with women.
The visible promotion of women was central to the success of Tony Blair - but now Gordon Brown has lost a succession of high profile women.
We'll talk to three prospective candidates from the three parties – all of them young women – and one of them maybe in parliament sooner than she expected, being the Tory PPC for Norwich North where Labour's Ian Gibson is standing down. That's at eight on More 4.
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 10:55 pm Post subject: Caroline Flint launches 'stiletto in the heart' of Gordon Br |
| Caroline Flint launches 'stiletto in the heart' of Gordon Brown
The Telegraph
05 Jun 2009
Gordon Brown is facing a 48-hour fight for survival after an unprecedented wave of senior ministerial resignations, catastrophic election results and a series of demands for his resignation overshadowed his emergency reshuffle.
After being snubbed for a promotion, Caroline Flint, the Europe Minister, delivered the most personal attack yet on the beleaguered Prime Minister, accusing him of using her as "female window dressing" and of operating a "two-tier Government".
In a move designed to maximise the damage to Mr Brown, she announced she was quitting his Government just as he faced the cameras to insist he would not walk away from Downing Street following Labour's worst performance at the polls in 30 years.
Less than 24 hours earlier, she had taken to the airwaves to support his leadership in the wake of the shock resignation of James Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, and his demand that the Prime Minister go for the good of the party.
But her departure was just one of a series of ministerial walk-outs which undermined Mr Brown's hurried attempt to reshape his Government and relaunch his premiership.
Geoff Hoon, John Hutton, Paul Murphy, Margaret Beckett and Tony McNulty have all quit the Government.
They followed Jacqui Smith, Hazel Blears, Mr Purnell and Beverley Hughes out of the exit door.
Mr Brown was forced to retreat from his plan to sack Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, instead keeping him and Foreign Secretary David Miliband in their posts, promoting leadership rival Alan Johnson to the Home Office and effectively making Peter Mandelson deputy Prime Minister.
Miss Flint's resignation came after a stormy meeting at Downing Street.
She issued a savage resignation letter personally attacking Mr Brown's style of Government and the overwhelming pre-eminence of men.
"You have a two-tier Government, your inner circle and then the remainder of Cabinet," she said.
"Several of the women attending Cabinet – myself included – have been treated by you as little more than female window dressing."
It was the bitterest attack yet, and came on an another extraordinary day at Westminster which saw:
* An emotional Mr Brown insisting he would not "walk away" from the challenge of reviving the economy and restoring Parliament's reputation in the wake of the expenses scandal exposed by The Daily Telegraph.
* A series of Labour MPs and other party figures calling on Mr Brown to stand aside, with rebels convinced they can force him out in the wake of Sunday night's European election results.
* Lord Mandelson rewarded for his staunch defence of the Prime Minister with the title of First Secretary of State, effectively Mr Brown's deputy.
* Several ministerial departures having been at the centre of the disclosures about their use of allowances.
This newspaper can also disclose that Mr Brown claimed parliamentary expenses for two properties at the same time after he "flipped" the designation of his second home. Mr Brown has agreed to repay more than £180 of the money "for the avoidance of doubt".
* The resignation from Parliament of Ian Gibson, a Labour backbencher banned from standing for the party again following revelations about his expenses claims. That triggers another awkward by-election.
* Mr Brown conducting a sweeping reshuffle of middle ranking ministers to shore up his position.
At his press conference late on Friday afternoon Mr Brown looked shaken and his voice appeared to tremble as he vowed to fight on.
"If I didn't think I was the right person to lead these challenges I would not be standing here," he said.
"I have faith in doing my duty…I believe in never walking away in difficult times. I will not waver. I will not walk away. I will get on with the job."
However, the results of the local elections, which emerged during the afternoon, showed that Labour had suffered an unprecedented humiliation.
The party lost control of its four remaning county councils, a wipeout that Mr Brown described as "painful" and for which he took full responsibility.
Projections for the overall vote last night showed Labour heading for third place behind the Tories and the Liberal Democrats.
If the results were translated to a general election, Mr Cameron would win with a majority of around 30.
The Tories took control of Staffordshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire from Labour, which had run all three since 1981.
And they celebrated a breakthrough in the South West where his party wrestled control from the Lib Dems in Devon and Somerset.
The Prime Minister was forced to rip up his planned reshuffle in the wake of Mr Purnell's dramatic departure.
He only survived because crucially, David Miliband did not follow his friend's lead.
Mr Brown had originally wanted to replace Mr Darling as Chancellor with Ed Balls.
He also wanted to bring in his other close former economic adviser Shriti Vadera.
But the Prime Minister quickly realised he could not risk Mr Darling being moved, despite his action inevitably being seen as a sign of weakness.
He persuaded Alan Johnson to fill the vacancy at the Home Office.
Mr Johnson is the favourite to move into Number 10 if Mr Brown is forced out.
Other Cabinet ministers did move aside, including John Hutton, the Defence Secretary and leading Blairite, and Geoff Hoon, the Transport Secretary, but they remained loyal to Mr Brown.
Mr Johnson also offered the Prime Minister his support, but while he insisted he could see no circumstances at present where he would mount a bid for the job he would "never say never" to becoming prime minister at some point.
He insisted that Mr Brown was "absolutely the best person for this job".
A group of backbenchers will this weekend try to gather more than 50 signatures for an email-based call for Mr Brown to quit.
Rebel organisers admitted that demonstrations of loyalty by many remaining ministers had been a setback to their attempt to persuade backbenchers to go public with attacks on Mr Brown.
One plotter said the results of the European elections, due on Sunday night, would now be "decisive".
Opinion polls suggest Labour could be beaten into third or even fourth place.
More than a dozen Labour backbenchers have now broken cover to call openly for Mr Brown to quit.
Mr Brown is expected to face backbenchers at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday night, a confrontation that could decide his fate.
Virtually all of the ministers who have left had faced questions over their expenses following disclosures in The Daily Telegraph.
Hazel Blears, Mr Hoon and James Purnell did not pay capital gains tax on the sale of London flats. Jacqui Smith claimed her "main home" was a bedroom in her sister's house allowing her to claim expenses on the family home in Redditch.
Tony McNulty claimed for a property where his parents lived.
Miss Flint claimed thousands of pounds in stamp duty despite being housing minister.
Of those facing major questions over their expenses, only Mr Darling, the Chancellor, survived.
Below is a summary of the reshuffle:
* Alistair Darling, Chancellor; Alan Johnson; Home Secretary; David Miliband,Foreign Secretary; Lord Mandelson, Business Secretary; Bob Ainsworth, Defence Secretary; Yvette Cooper, Department of Work and Pensions; Ed Balls, Children's Secretary; John Denham, Communities Secretary; Andy Burnham, Culture Secretary; Peter Hain, Welsh Secretary; Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary; Hilary Benn, Environment Secretary; Lord Adonis, Transport Secretary; Ben Bradshaw, Culture Secretary; Harriet Harman, Leader of the House of Commons; Jack Straw, Justice Secretary; Ed Miliband, Energy Secretary; Shaun Woodward, Northern Ireland Secretary; Baroness Royall, Leader of the House of Lords; Tessa Jowell, Cabinet Office Minister; Jim Murphy, Scottish Secretary; Liam Byrne, Chief Secretary to the Treasury;
* Sir Alan Sugar will become Enterprise Tsar
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
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