Looks like there could be more…

We get to see what Alan Milburn and Charles Clarke are up to tomorrow after their “we’re worried about the Labour party under Brown” email.  Look out for an exciting new website.

Rumours over the weekend suggested that John Denham may enter the ring.  He’s not cabinet but well liked.

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Backseat driving

I always thought that when he became leader, Brown would send Blair abroad to avoid the problems Major faced from old Maggie, who haunted him from the Lords.  Blair would suit some overseas job- he’s certainly spent alot of time abroad.  But before he can do this, there is the matter of what to do with his parlaimentary seat.

According to the weekend gossip, Tony wants to resign his Parliamentary seat in the autumn.  This clearly presents a dilemma for Brown.  He can’t have Blair hanging around the backbenches but an early by-election could cause problems, even in such a safe seat as Sedgefield.  Perhaps Blair should just spend less time in Westminster and more in his constituency for a while- his voters might even like that.  

Hattip: The first Post 

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Brown worried by polls, goes to Toyota plant tomorrow

Gordon is worried by those polls last week. To counter, the Brown camp released a poll by Opinion Poll research of 100 “opinion makers” which shows Cameron lacks substance.

To demonstrate how substantial he is, Brown is to visit a Toyota plant in Derby tomorrow.

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Who’s the mysterious minister?

Although Bremner, Bird and Fortune has become stale over the last few years, it is still witty, clever and well researched. According to an interview in the Telegraph, it seems that Bremner has a secret tape he is unable to release (yet). It is a recording of Bremner pretending to be Brown and speaking on the telephone to a Cabinet minister in 2005 in which the minister revealed important information about their cabinet colleagues, including advice not to bring back Stephen Byers (no surprise there).

So who is this cabinet collegue? David Blunkett perhaps?

Update:  

Mystery solved.  It was Margaret Beckett.

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Photo-op protest

Gordon Brown was heckled by some students during his visit to St Andrews University today to open the new environmentally friendly student accomodation.

The students, who are members of the Lower Rents Now coalition, were complaining that it costs them £4k a year to stay in the halls. They thought that education and lower rents were more important than Trident or the war in Iraq.

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It’s the economy - stupid!

Today’s Telegraph/YouGov poll certainly supports what we saw in the Guardian poll on Wednesday - 29% would prefer Cameron, to 24% for Brown. But what is certainly the most worrying thing for Brown is that the voters are beginning to distrust Labour over the economy - New Labour and Brown’s biggest asset. Interesting though, it seems that a lot of people (28%) are sceptical about either party’s ability to manage the economy.

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Who is No 1?

In the 1970s sci-fi spy thriller The Prisoner, Patrick McGoohan tries to discover “who is Number 1″, the mysterious person who is keeping him in The Village. In a Kafka style ending, the last episode reveals that The Prisoner is himself Number 1.

brown-prisoner.jpg

Gordon Brown, trapped in the Westminster Village, is also infatuated with Number 1. Just as in the last episode of The Prisoner, we will soon discover that the real Number 1 has been Gordon Brown all along.

Current speculation is that a Brown government would do things differently and that Brown will destroy Blair’s “legacy” by halting Blair’s reforms. However, such an analysis ignores the influence and power Brown has held over the past 10 years.

Brown is responsible for much of the political landscape of the past 10 years. By hook or by crook we will soon realise this too.

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Another photo op- St Andrews University Friday

Gordon is off to St Andrew’s University tomorrow (Friday) to open the most environmental halls of residence in the UK, (it only cost £34.7m) even though its been open for over a year.

Its a photo op, the environment and education all in one.

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Are you over-familiar with Brown?

The Speccie (signup required) is essential reading this week. There is an excellent article by Frank Luntz on the difference between Brown and Cameron and a comparison between American and British politics. Brown’s problem, it seems, is his “over-familiarity”; the public trust him but don’t like him. Luntz says:

“Incredibly, Mr Cameron, a relative novice, is defining the words and themes that the Chancellor uses and, by extension, his political agenda. And it shows. That is why — as my research has consistently demonstrated — the British people aren’t buying into the new, ‘cuddly’ Mr Brown, the one who listens to the Arctic Monkeys in the morning before heading off to a photo op at a nursery school. They know it’s not the real him.”

According to Luntz, Brown needs to learn the new lexicon of politics…looks like there’ll be a rush on his book this week.

Hat tip: Guido Fawkes 

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Then there were three…

Michael Meacher to challenge Brown for the leadership. Will there be more?

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