Comments on: Cabinet Reshuffle Liveblog

By: Newmnia

Newmnia — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:26:01 +0000

Better than the alternative Thomas . How is it to be six?

By: thomas

thomas — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:38:36 +0000

Happy Birthday Newmania – how is it to be 45?

By: Newmania

Newmania — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:37:02 +0000

Bean

By: Cheesy Monkey

Cheesy Monkey — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:29:59 +0000

That, of course, should read “ministerial position”… I doubt that some telly programme about Jon Cruddas will set the ratings on fire. I have been wrong before.

By: Cheesy Monkey

Cheesy Monkey — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:25:09 +0000

Is this Brown gearing up for the next General Election… or New Labour seeking to prevent the party’s move Left after a General Election defeat? Forget Mandy, the one to look out for is Cruddas – if Brown considers him a threat, he’ll get a miniserial position or something similar. However, if Brown thinks (rightly, in my view) that Cruddas does not represent a figure the Left can rally round – Cruddas is no left-winger in the classic sense – then he’ll get bugger all.

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:38:56 +0000

“Are enough voters going to be persuaded by that old team of spinners?”

Enough seem to be persuaded by the new team of spinners at CCHQ, operating along much the same lines.

Part of the art of the spin doctor is in convincing the public you’re not one, of course, which is where Mandy, Draper and co. are at something of a disadvantage.

By: Aaron Heath

Aaron Heath — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:20:06 +0000

Please feel free to carry thing on in comments… unless any of the LibCon writers fancy picking up the thread.

Love to, but the Mrs. has me decorating the kid’s room. (

By: ukliberty

ukliberty — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:01:31 +0000

Inclined to agree with thomas. Are enough voters going to be persuaded by that old team of spinners? I think lots are going to be even more turned off than they are now.

By: Andy Gilmour

Andy Gilmour — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:59:58 +0000

Mandelson’s never been the same since he shaved off his ‘porn tache’…

By: redpesto

redpesto — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:26:21 +0000

Lord Mandelson?

I hear the howling of wolves and feel sudden chill in the room… And hiring Yelland? Was Campbell too busy with the next volume of his memoirs or something? Is the 1990s revival already under way?

By: john b

john b — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:49:05 +0000

“Doesn’t Mandy represent everything most people hate about Labour?”

Fairly sure GB represents everything most people hate about Labour at the mo’, so unlikely to do all that much harm

By: cjcjc

cjcjc — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:45:08 +0000

It may be seen as a “healing gesture” by the Westminster village.

How will it be seen by the public?

Doesn’t Mandy represent everything most people hate about Labour?

I doubt whether the Tories will object to more Mandy on the telly…

By: Paul Linford

Paul Linford — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:40:06 +0000

One for Labour kremlinologists, this, but the return of Peter Mandelson and Nick Brown to the Cabinet at the same time is significant. These two were the main protagonists in the briefing war that was fought between the Blair-Brown camps in the ’94 leadership battle and afterwards. Bringing them both back into the Cabinet together could be seen as the ultimate healing gesture by Gordon – which is I suspect how it will be seen within the PLP.

By: Newmania

Newmania — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:07:32 +0000

Brown is already spending more on propaganda than Blair did but Mandy has negative credibility .He is a corrupt clown Brown must have come up with 20% behind in deperation . Major’s demise had a little more to it than the arrogant coterie of self congratulatory slime balls along for the ride Unity
I said some time ago that was a chat between New Labour and One Nation Tory is going to turn into a fight to save the country from the destruction fourth term of union backed leftish spend tax and control freak Brown.. I believe the horror of what the Scot would do to the national debt and the tax payer will win the day but who knows . With belts tightened the public sector will return to their paymasters instinctively and even 10% ahead the system is rigged against the right that a majority is uncertain .I have seen convincing analysis that the position Brown has given us is fighting in the streets bad .
Well maybe its about time we cleaned out the closet . I cannot see how New Labour could continue to govern in England (where he cannot win or even get close) with the devolved assemblies and such a built up loathing in all the cash cow regions .

By: thomas

thomas — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:04:39 +0000

So with Whelan’s return, Draper and now Mandy the old team of spinners is reassembling for a reunion tour.

I agree Campbell and others must be being courted, but I’m just a little bit suspicious about whether their time hasn’t passed. Can they keep scoring hits, or has the public taste moved on sufficiently – aren’t we a bit more sophisticated now to be able to resist being sucked in by their empty tactics?

By: Doug

Doug — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:55:10 +0000

Mandelson? Argh…

By: Aaron Heath

Aaron Heath — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:35:06 +0000

Unity #4

Expertly put.

By: Unity

Unity — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:31:17 +0000

I think the one thing we can safely predict from the Mandelson move is that the gloves are coming off and things are going to get dirty.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Campbell pop up in a consultancy role to go with the return of both Mandelson and Draper, as its apparent that Brown’s reassembling the team that beat the living crap out of Major in 1997 in order to counter Coulson’s Tory spin operation.

The next election was always going to be a brutal one, but now it looks likely to turn in a bloodbath.

By: Aaron Heath

Aaron Heath — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:26:28 +0000

Re. Mandelson

Brown is desperate for someone to stabilise his ship. Mandelson, lest we forget, is a shrewd and experienced political operator.

The Tory blog monkeys will guffaw at this, but the smarter ones will realise the importance of the move.

Whether Mandelson will be able to steer Brown away from the rocks is unclear. I think probably not.

By: Aaron Heath

Aaron Heath — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:22:43 +0000

Brown is all over the place ~ Newmania

Looking at that paragraph, that makes two of you.

By: Newmania

Newmania — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:04:04 +0000

Mandy baby has a long article in the New Statesman today “I support Brown but we mustn`t turn left”This has to be to shore up Brown internally and to set against the move left at the conference .Under cover of financial melt down Brown think she can do anything( See Mary Riddell) “Mr Brown, once denigrated by Mr Cameron as an arch-ditherer, can suddenly do anything he wants. An unpopular reshuffle in the next few days? “Don’t rule it out,” an insider says. Most radically of all, I understand that Mr Brown is actively considering whether Britain should join the euro.” Private Eye says Cross Rail is dropped – I think they are right To me this all looks as if he is under far far more pressurre in the Labour Party than we know and that is certainly what Martin Bright in the New Statesman says ( Trench warfare he calls it )…of course this must have been planned before Brown recovered a bit …when there was absolutely nothing to lose.Now it looks desperate.If there is anyone who sums uop New Labour sleaze spin ignorance and incompetence it has to be that prat Mandy

Brown is all over the place