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Tuesday, 24th November 2009 Change Date

Brown meets with his new cabinet as MPs' revolt falters

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Published Date: 09 June 2009
By Ian Swanson
GORDON Brown was today chairing the first meeting of his new Cabinet safe in the knowledge that the "peasants' revolt" against his premiership had collapsed.
The much-touted backbench rebellion failed to materialise when Labour MPs met the Prime Minister last night.

Despite the party's catastrophic European election results and yet another ministerial resignation, only a handful of critics broke ranks to call for Mr Brown to stand down.

The Prime Minister attempted to defuse the febrile mood among his MPs by admitting to "weaknesses", and promising a new approach and new policies.

He also pledged to act in a "more collective way", and signalled policy shifts were on the way.

There had been talk of a backbench campaign to force Mr Brown to resign, but the momentum was lost when ministers failed to follow the lead of former Work and Pensions minister James Purnell when he quit demanding a change of leadership.

Today's Cabinet meeting - the first since Friday's reshuffle - was expected to discuss concessions on part-privatisation of Royal Mail.

An inquiry into the Iraq war is also set to be announced soon, but the sniping at Mr Brown from dissident Labour MPs continued even after last night's meeting of the parliamentary party.

Former transport minister Tom Harris said said he did not believe Mr Brown would lead the party into the next general election.

"There are many people in the Labour Party, in the Government, in the PLP, who feel as I do about Gordon, who feel that his continued leadership will result in a Conservative government and if you genuinely believe that then you should say so.

Asked if the divisions would continue in the party, he said: "I can see no way we can draw a line under it."

Former Trade Secretary Stephen Byers used a rally staged by the Blairite think-tank Progress to add his voice to the criticism.

He said: "We need a leader who can win for Labour at the next general election and not take us to a humiliating defeat. Gordon Brown is not that leader."

• An opinion poll today claimed Labour could deny the Tories an overall majority at the general election if Alan Johnson replaced Mr Brown as leader.

The ComRes survey for the Independent found the Conservatives have an advantage of 38 per cent to 22 per cent while Mr Brown is leader.

If Home Secretary Mr Johnson took over, it suggested the party's support would rise to 26 per cent and backing for the Tories drop to 36 per cent, which would leave the Tories six short of an overall majority.

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1

Herry Oaksters,

09/06/2009 09:20:01
Not only is Brown a bottler he is in charge of a whole party of bottlers, what a bunch of selfseeking cowards labour are.
Time to get rid.
2

Ken Mac,

Glasgow 09/06/2009 09:37:09
Suprised they don't have Johnson in right away if this poll is to be believed. A week is a long time in politics but it will take a miracle to deny the Tories a majority.

Yesterday I slagged the Labour loving Daily Record for ignoring the election and making the death of Henrik Larsson's brother their headline. Reading their report today on the figures that show if the European election results were repeated at the general election the SNP could win 27 seats, the Record reports that they currently have 6 seats. Seems they have to wipe from their memories anything bad that happens to Labour. They are just ignoring the by election in Glasgow won by John Mason for the SNP. Shoddy reporting. Couldn't happen in the Scotsman could it?
3

Earman,

Paphos 09/06/2009 11:06:56
At long last the Labour Party have shown that they DO have Scotland's interests at heart! By reaching agreement to add even more dates to their long-running pantomime, "You Think THIS is a Shambles? You Ain't Seen Nuffink Yet!", they have pretty much ensured that we SHALL have Independence in Scotland.

Mr Brown et al, as Arfur Askey would have said, "I thank you!"
4

alfonsa pedrosa,

embra 09/06/2009 12:01:48
Labour has to go,they are a waste of space and money.
5

Number 6,

Germany 09/06/2009 12:04:30
That's right Brown: "to hell with what the electorate think, as long as I can keep a majority of trough feeders on my side nothing else matters. he he he."
6

The Former Mr. Angry,

Perth 09/06/2009 12:10:51
Having got off the hook again, courtesy of trough guzzlers needing to stay until the latest election date possible, Brown promises he will change. I guarantee you that as soon as he stepped out of that meeting he was thinking "thank goodness I have now assembled a compliant cabinet" and was thinking up who to smear next. Nasty is as nasty does. He will not be changing anything.
7

Goskun,

09/06/2009 14:21:04
I apologise for posting here, but wish to comment on the "Hearse" story. I would like to thank Mr Paul Kernachan for ridding this area of the scum in this area. Hopefully it will be permanent. Perhaps now the council will believe the many complaints they have received. Will they now refund the payments that we have had to pay, for the damage to the property caused by them, and, who will now be resonsible for the dicarded furniture items within the stair and rear garden?
8

blackley,

Edinburgh 09/06/2009 15:47:55
Great news. Now he can get on with sorting out the economy which is what we want him to do instead of spending his time defending himself against a media that is hell bent on dragging this country down.

9

Richard Lionheart,

09/06/2009 15:56:33
He said he will learn lessons. Wasn't that what he said the last time, and has he not beeen saying that for quite a while now.

"We have ended Boom and BUST, WE HAVE LEARNT THE LESSONS OF THE PAST"
10

Jason Scorne,

09/06/2009 16:08:08
Oh great, another year of Broon & Mandy's spinless muppets running our economy into the ground, not to mention mass unemployment, national debt in the trillions, worthless pensions, illegal wars, ID cards, Trident...

Who will not want to vote for an independant Scotland, and be rid of ZaNuLabour forever?
11

Jason Scorne,

09/06/2009 16:37:26
"spinless" in post 10? That would be "spineless" of course.

A "spinless" Labour government? As if...
12

Edward,

09/06/2009 17:15:37
Brown IS repeating himself. He did say before that lessons were learned etc etc. He must have it as a set piece excuse. So we are to put up with at the most 11 more months of this pathetic creep and his bunch of muppets. They will go around as if nothing has happened and hope that we just forget all about it.
Fact is we wont!
Brown will for the rest of his term be holed up in his bunker, for he will not risk going out in public meeting the ordinary man or woman in the street.
The boo's he got when he ventured to the D-Day services in France was just a taste of what he would get here
13

Eve,

Scotland 09/06/2009 18:21:49
#12 Edward: It's ovbously a kidology statement!

Possible the only people they are kidding are the Labour Party, them self. Sad isn't it!!
14

donald,

glasgow 11/06/2009 03:57:00
And did those seats in ancient times
Bend upon England's Queen and Peasant land.
And did Labour move Jerusalem
From Palestine to Israel's New and created land.

 

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