General Election Fiasco: Squandering People's Goodwill.
Just for the record this is what I said yesterday as the general election story unfolded.
In the morning I sent out the following press release.
Later that afternoon when the BBC reported that Gordon Brown had briefed them that the election was off I sent out a response set out below.
You can see I just thought what a mess. Gordon Brown promised change but we are back to spin and a continuation of the same policies. As many of us predicted we are sleepwalking towards a Tory government if there isnt real change in both policies and also in the attitude towards democracy and how we govern. The only way forward is to demonstrate real change by withdrawing from Iraq, ending privatisation, tacking inequality and restoring civil liberties and rights, and reasserting democracy in both our party and in our country. If we do this people may start trusting a Labour government again
Press Release issued Saturday morning:
As time Labour MP, John McDonnell, Accuses Brown Team of Presenting the Tories with an Open Goal.
John McDonnell Labour MP and former candidate for the Labour leadership commented today that many in the Labour Party were losing patience at the inept handling of the election issue by the inexperienced Brown team, accusing them of squandering the peoples goodwill during the Brown honeymoon period and presenting the Tories with an open goal.
John said “As a result of weeks of inept tactical gameplaying by Brown's inexperienced team we have reached a point where the Prime Minister either calls an election in the face of volatile polls and unnecessarily risks a Labour Government or backs down and looks both opportunist and weak.Just when the weakness of the Tories could have been consolidated, the Prime Minister and his team of political testosterone-filled young men have presented the Tories with an open goal and offered them a chance of revival.Confidence in a leader and a government once lost are almost impossible to regain. The incompetent handling of the last few weeks by the Brown team has squandered the good will people felt towards Labour as a result of Tony Blair going.It is time to just get back to serving the people and governing the country.”
Press Release two issued Saturday afternoon:
Labour MP and former Labour Leadership Candidate, John McDonnell, describes the Prime Minister’s Election Climbdown as an utter Fiasco
John McDonnell MP said This climbdown is an utter fiasco. After weeks of political gameplaying by the inexperienced, testosterone fuelled young men in Browns team we have presented the Tories with an own goal, making a Labour leader look weak and re-associating the party with spin. The incompetent handling of the last few weeks has squandered the good will the people of this country felt towards Labour as a result of Tony Blair going. It is time to get back to serving the people and governing the country.
In the morning I sent out the following press release.
Later that afternoon when the BBC reported that Gordon Brown had briefed them that the election was off I sent out a response set out below.
You can see I just thought what a mess. Gordon Brown promised change but we are back to spin and a continuation of the same policies. As many of us predicted we are sleepwalking towards a Tory government if there isnt real change in both policies and also in the attitude towards democracy and how we govern. The only way forward is to demonstrate real change by withdrawing from Iraq, ending privatisation, tacking inequality and restoring civil liberties and rights, and reasserting democracy in both our party and in our country. If we do this people may start trusting a Labour government again
Press Release issued Saturday morning:
As time Labour MP, John McDonnell, Accuses Brown Team of Presenting the Tories with an Open Goal.
John McDonnell Labour MP and former candidate for the Labour leadership commented today that many in the Labour Party were losing patience at the inept handling of the election issue by the inexperienced Brown team, accusing them of squandering the peoples goodwill during the Brown honeymoon period and presenting the Tories with an open goal.
John said “As a result of weeks of inept tactical gameplaying by Brown's inexperienced team we have reached a point where the Prime Minister either calls an election in the face of volatile polls and unnecessarily risks a Labour Government or backs down and looks both opportunist and weak.Just when the weakness of the Tories could have been consolidated, the Prime Minister and his team of political testosterone-filled young men have presented the Tories with an open goal and offered them a chance of revival.Confidence in a leader and a government once lost are almost impossible to regain. The incompetent handling of the last few weeks by the Brown team has squandered the good will people felt towards Labour as a result of Tony Blair going.It is time to just get back to serving the people and governing the country.”
Press Release two issued Saturday afternoon:
Labour MP and former Labour Leadership Candidate, John McDonnell, describes the Prime Minister’s Election Climbdown as an utter Fiasco
John McDonnell MP said This climbdown is an utter fiasco. After weeks of political gameplaying by the inexperienced, testosterone fuelled young men in Browns team we have presented the Tories with an own goal, making a Labour leader look weak and re-associating the party with spin. The incompetent handling of the last few weeks has squandered the good will the people of this country felt towards Labour as a result of Tony Blair going. It is time to get back to serving the people and governing the country.
posted by John at 9:28 AM
5 Comments:
I agree.
This is a huge own goal.
The Labour party has lost so much support and has failed to reconnect and engage with supporters who have walked away.
It is in trouble in marginal seats because it has so few activists.
The people who advise on these things seem to be politics students who have no idea of the real world.
In my own area of animal welfare/rights I know of hardly anyone who will lift a finger to help the party (yet alone vote) because of let downs and broken promises.
"let downs and broken promises."
Tell it as it is...LIES.
I think Brown was feeling dangerously arrogant and cynical when he was going to call the election but has now gone back to his over-cautious phoney visioned usual mediocre from of politics which unfortunately involves driving the country deliberately forward to a situation where we become more and more miserable and wretched,our sick and elderly people don't get the treatment they need in our hospitals money's "too tight to mention" for teh average family, repossesions etc just lke under Thatcherism - and all for the painted whore of excesive amd unsustainable capatalist finacial growth. Well "it dosen't have to be this way" sorry more song lyrics and even his own ministers obviously don't belive everything they are having to speak up for in public such as Yvette Cooper recently on housing - she can't answer when the sensible proposals to alleviated the housing crisis -which is now as bad as the one jsut after teh second world war shocking but true -articulated by the Defend Council Housing campaign which the majority of peole support are put to her. Soemtimes in life adn politics too yo have to stick your neck out and take teh crap from a few inevitable dissenters and I just wish they would as it's obvious that this government could do better but they just don't have the courage. There is a difference of course between moral courage and arrogance.
I heard John being quoted last night on Radio 5 and we must all keep his profile up as a former leadership candiate and of course as Cameron keeps pointing out Gordon Brown dosen't have a mandate so we must make people aware that there is an alternative view within the party without handing it to the Tories. Tricky but I think what John's said above and in the media has been spot on.; maybe hte country could do with his experience and wise adn realistc judgement well those of us down and dirty in the real world where the bread always fall on teh buttered side down anyway!!!
It's quite extraordinary how things have gone belly-up for Brown in less than a week - a clear sign that much of his "bounce" was smoke and mirrors and why should people vote for a pretend Tory when they can have the real thing? I agree this opens up an opportunity for the Left in terms of raising our profile so let's do it. The honeymoon's truly over for Brown now....
Why do the Press Releases refer to John McDonnell in the third person? Or are these reports of the Press Releases in the Media?
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