Admit you’re the problem, Labour peer tells Gordon Brown
Saturday, 26 July 2008
Print
Email
Pressure continued to mount on beleaguered Prime Minister Gordon Brown last night as high- profile Labour supporters questioned his future.
Cabinet colleagues sprang to his defence with Chancellor Alistair Darling warning against “chopping and changing leaders” and insisting Mr Brown was still the best person to lead the party.
But Lord Desai called for the Prime Minister to “admit he is the problem” and stand down as Prime Minister while union leader Paul Kenny warned it had reach “back me or sack me” time after the disastrous Glasgow by-election loss.
Lord Desai said: “He has to admit he is the problem and he has to remove himself. Nobody is going to challenge a sitting leader because that is too damaging a process for the party,” he said.
“Because there is no stomach for a leadership change there is nothing we can do. It is like watching a crash in slow motion.
“I hope we can improve but I don't expect to win the next election. I wouldn't put any money on us winning the next election, the only thing is how badly we lose,” he added.
Mr Kenny, GMB leader, said: “There's no point dressing it up. It was an unmitigated disaster. The MPs have got to make a strong decision as to whether they want to go into an election with Gordon Brown or have a contest.
“Either he goes or he stays. All this whispering behind the scenes must stop and you either back him or sack him.”
Earlier Mr Brown attempted to boost morale at the Labour National Policy Forum, which brings together 55 Constituency Labour Parties and 30 trade unions to consider new ideas and amendments to current policies.
But as well as having to deal with the fall-out from Thursday’s by-election he also faced having to deal with a shopping list of 100 demands from the unions, which now account for the majority of Labour funding.
The Prime Minister said that if the Tories were elected they would push through a £12 billion tax cut paid for by cuts to health, education and other frontline services: “I don’t want to wake up and find that there are massive tax cuts being given to the fewest and the richest and the wealthiest people of this country at the expense of cutting the public services of this country,” he added.
He ended with a rallying call to activists to have confidence in the party’s values, “whatever the setbacks and difficulties” that lay ahead.
“Whatever these difficulties, have confidence that not only do we have the right policies, but when the time comes we will be able to persuade the British people,” he said.
Post a comment
Limit: 500 characters
View all comments that have been posted about this article
Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP address logged and may be used to prevent further submissions. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by BelfastTelegraph.co.uk's Terms of Use.
Posts submitted in UPPERCASE letters will be rejected.
It's the Labour government that's the problem... Calling for Mr Brown to resign will not change the issue one bit.
Posted by Fawce | 26.07.08, 18:07 GMT
Its time for this pathetic leader to go, the pensioners, the lower paid are all having to struggle while the fat cats, including the likes of Gordon Brown are having a good time at the tax payers expence. all MP,s should be given a wage with no extra freebbies, all persons on £100,000 a year or more should be taxed at a much higher rate, lastly we as a country can ill afford to give £30,000,000 to the Palistines? what is Gordon Brown thinking of when there are so many deserving causes in his own country. If i was younger a would have no hesitating at emigrating from this country before we all have to work untill the day we die because of all the taxes we have to pay, and if we dont work there are enough cameras in this country to check up on us. I GIVE UP.
Posted by Colin Morgan | 26.07.08, 17:37 GMT
Brown isn't the problem, we have a labour government this is the problem
Every time they're in power we're stripped of everything, leaving the next government to try and put things right
This time I fear they've done too much damage, anyone sober has watched over the past 10 years as we've been taxed, fined, our rights eroded, our education system broken, the crime rate blossom, the NHS destroyed
British companies have gone abroad to avoid the high tax and costs - the minimum wage was only another name for maximum inflation, prices forced up to pay wages. Now who is better off? Strangely less companies mean lower unemployment?
Best not speak out too much though, as a new law will be invented to silence us.
Stop rolling over like sheep,join together and demand an end to labours madness once and for all, cummunism does NOT work,Russia saw sense now it's our turn. I'm pleased to see the SNP eroding into this excuse for a government, but sadly, maybe it's all too late for us
Posted by Steve Aynsley | 26.07.08, 17:09 GMT
"...when the time comes we will be able to persuade the British people,”
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Posted by Phill | 26.07.08, 16:09 GMT
Gordon Brown, like Harry S Trueman, has to admit that the buck stops with him but he certainly has not been helped by the disaster he calls his cabinet. None of them have actually done anything to raise the profile of the present Labour leadership and all should take a share in the blame for the government's miserable recent performance. A Cabinet shuffle is not the answer - what is needed is a Cabinet clear-out.
Posted by Jill | 26.07.08, 15:58 GMT
""“Whatever these difficulties, have confidence that not only do we have the right policies, but when the time comes we will be able to persuade the British people,”"" he said.
Thats a crock and well he knows it.
Brown has systematically dismantled an "insurmountable lead" over the Conservatives, eroding the Labour party's position with his dithering actions and niave decision making, and he's done so on a daily basis over the last year.
As Lord Desai states above, its like watching a crash in slow motion and its down to the Party leaders as well as the Prime Minister, who should between them take responsibility for the next ten years of tory rule.
The Conservatives won't win the next election. Labour have given it to them on a plate and I for one, am a 'former' Labour voter who feels let down by Brown, by the party leaders, and by the Labour party in general, for not having the balls to act sooner.
Posted by Canna Zine | 26.07.08, 15:40 GMT
Gordon Brown "ended with a rallying call to activists to have confidence in the party’s values."
What are the party's values? Anyone know?
Posted by Bryan James | 26.07.08, 15:38 GMT
What this country needs is a complete shake up of the tax system, we are paying tax upon tax and the system is very complicated. whay cant a standard system be introduced that the people who pay the taxes understand? its the rich robbing the poor and gordon brown is greedy.
Posted by Neil Ramsbottom | 26.07.08, 15:15 GMT
Would we notice the cuts in these services? For all the money that has been ploughed into the NHS, Education and I presume by "frontline services" he means Police, Local Authority services and maybe Defence all we ever hear about is shortages of funding!
Gordon Brown's create a job programme has gone well over the years, think up a Regulation and create compliance and enforcment officers, who total over 1.5million at the last count costing £45 billion pounds in higher costs and taxes, to what end?
I have lived through every post war Labour Government and this one has followed the same path as all the rest of high state spending with questionable results and high taxes that in the end do none of us any good, strangle our businesses and in the end result in lost jobs.
We simply need a change of Government, just ridding ourselves of Brown isn't enough
Posted by Peter OLdham | 26.07.08, 14:24 GMT
Why is Lord Desai so anxious to see Gordon Brown removed?
He must surely be well aware that the problem is not Gordon Brown, but the New Labour Party and what Tony Blair left behind.
Posted by Astor | 26.07.08, 14:18 GMT
The people of the UK have woke up at long last and are now seeing and feeling what Brown has done to the economy over the past years as chancellor, now as leader he failed to keep his word on the European vote, A man that gives no respect to the people deserves non.
He forgot “That you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all the time”
It is time politicians thought of the people not themselves
Posted by arwascoe | 26.07.08, 14:11 GMT