I've just seen the pamphlet issued by Conservative HQ on Brown's first year in charge. It doesn't hold back - the chapters are broken down into the following:
* Brown the failure
* Brown the incompetent
* Brown the ditherer
* Brown the opportunist
* Brown the hypocrite
It also includes embarrassing pictures (the standard issue "PM asleep at important UN conference), a "Gaffes" section and a whole part dedicated to "Brownies" - new Conservative speak for Prime Ministerial fibs. They also include a handy "TImeline of Failure".
So is this the return of the nasty face of the Tories? Hardly an end to Punch and Judy politics is it?
They never went away, just kept quiet so as not to scares the voters. The only difference today is that labour has institutionalised corruption, whereas with the conservatives it was every man and woman for themselves.
Posted by: flipped | Thursday, 26 June 2008 at 04:55 PM
They've missed a couple of important chapter headings;
Brown the traitor.
Brown the bare-faced liar.
In that regard I think that Tory high command has been rather benevolent.
There is no political grouping in the western World more vitriolic and spiteful than the left-liberal bigots of the socialist movement. I've not read the Tory report yet, but I am certain that it will be tame by comparison to some of the unashamed and mendacious character assasinations doled out by NuLabour and its grubby little aparatchiks.
Posted by: Keith Lonsdale | Thursday, 26 June 2008 at 06:38 PM
Hear hear Keith. And what about the Guardian's treatment of Boris,and the C&N by election to name but two of the most recent examples of socialist bigotry.
Posted by: sheepdip | Thursday, 26 June 2008 at 07:52 PM
Totally spot on Michael. I'm surprised that nobody has picked up on this sooner. This isn't about Gordon Brown really, but rather is about the institutional arrogant elitism and separatism (or snobbery) that will always exist in the Tory party.
Rather than lumping all the blame on Gordon remember that he also seems to be surrounded by Labour's own asinine so called elitists who do a great job of regularly misinforming him.
Posted by: helen | Friday, 27 June 2008 at 06:39 AM
Amazing how politicians can never get anything right. The Tories are correct to attack Brown and his ghastly cohorts as often as they can - but in doing this over-the-top personalised diatribe they have offended people's sense of fair play. They're all useless - please can we call in the UN or Sarkozy?
Posted by: john problem | Friday, 27 June 2008 at 09:12 AM
How about 'No such thing as society', '16% mortgage rates', 5 million unemployed', 'against minimum wage', 'abolition of MIRAS', 'POLL Tax', 'abolition of pension/average earnings link', 'inception of fuel multiplier', 'inability to solve Northern Ireland', 'corrupt MPs/Ministers eg Jonathan Aitkin jailed', John Major and Edwina Currie', no referendum on Maastricht Treaty 1992, leaking roofs in schools/no computers, 2 year waiting lists for hip/knee replacements - the list could go on for the Tories, but the new voting generation has not experienced this and some older voters/the media have got short memories.
Posted by: SK | Saturday, 28 June 2008 at 05:38 AM