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IT WOULD be easy to dismiss the storm over emails sent by No 10 adviser Damien McBride as just another Westminster row over spin. In fact it reveals something more troubling about Gordon Brown's government. For all his bestriding the international stage, Mr Brown has never left behind his oppositional mindset; worse, he is running out of ideas.
Certainly the PM should apologise to George Osborne and other Tories (although the chances of him doing so are minimal). It is unconvincing to claim that Mr Brown does not need to do so because he did not know what was going on.
His mode of operation throughout his years at the Treasury was to give his spin doctors and supporters in the Commons a long leash to brief and attack — as, for example, with his use of Tom Watson and others in his September 2006 “coup” against Tony Blair. Mr Brown may not have known the detail of McBride's crackpot plans, but he was quite aware of his spin doctor's viciousness, and employed him for it.
Yet in the same way that he allowed Ed Balls to talk up the prospect of an early election in September 2007, Mr Brown somehow seems not to understand that such fast-and-loose oppositional tactics will not work now he is Prime Minister: they reflect directly on him, because he is in control.
The more serious problem is that such endless manoeuvring during his years waiting for Mr Blair's job appears to have consumed the time and energy that might have been devoted to developing an alternative vision for a Labour government. His only real alternative then was spending more money on public services; the results are patchy and now the money has run out in any case.
No amount of summiteering or talk of “Britishness” or his “values” will obscure the fact that Mr Brown does not seem to have a very clear idea what he wants to do with power. With the Tories' poll lead hardening, to rely on spin to change that perception is a counsel of despair.
Not cycle city yet
THE MAYOR is proposing to allow cyclists to turn left at traffic signals on red, provided they give way to pedestrians, and to drop the £30 penalty for doing so. We applaud his desire to help cyclists, but are doubtful that these concessions will avoid the kind of accidents that led to two more cyclist deaths in London last week.
For cyclists, moving alongside large vehicles that may turn left is always dangerous. The fitting of special new mirrors and training in their use for lorry drivers will have more impact than any other change. And there needs to be a wholesale change in attitude towards cyclists from traffic planners and motorists themselves, so that it is accepted that this is a growing mode of transport which must be actively encouraged rather than sidelined.
Mr Johnson's latest proposals are to be welcomed but they are no substitute for the prolonged campaign he needs to wage against councils and Transport for London officials who fail to realise that the time has come to make the capital a cyclists' city.
Battersea dome
THE NEW design for Battersea Power Station, involving a glass dome over the roofless and crumbling structure, will have far less impact on the London skyline than the 300m glass tower previously proposed. The reworked proposal from renowned New York architect Rafael Vinoly deserves serious consideration by Wandsworth council and the Mayor.
The Nine Elms area, bigger than Canary Wharf, could offer new homes and jobs to central London on a grand scale. The arrival of the US embassy there should be a spur to much-needed regeneration.
This design may not be perfect but the chance to transform the location, complete with a planned new Tube station, must not be missed.
Reader views (3)
I do worry about our PMs ability to believe black is white. If Brown had made a full apology at the weekend together with promises that the culture not just the rules will be changed then he could have drawn a line under the whole affair. Instead after being asked he comes with with "regrets" which have satisfied no one. He is just reinforcing his image as someone who can never accept any kind of responsibility for his and his peoples actions.
- Dave, London England, 14/04/2009 17:19
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'...that Mr Brown does not seem to have a very clear idea what he wants to do with power.'
Based on the time he has been in office & the repressive new laws he has brought in to remove our Civil Liberties, plus this latest smear debacle I would say '..what he wants to do with power ..is ABUSE & MISUSE IT.'
- Rm, S0uthampton, 14/04/2009 17:14
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The only person Brown is fooling is himself. The buck stops at his desk. The rules do not need to be rewritten they quite clearly forbid such filthy lies. The rules also state that the Minister is directly responsible for the actions of his aides.
If he is not in control, who is running the country?
- Simon Wells, BRENTWOOD ENGLAND, 14/04/2009 12:48
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