Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

Gordon Brown

This blog affirms once more its independence of political parties, whilst commenting in robust terms on political issues. The latest excitement revolves round allegations in a new book that Gordon is a bully, to which is added the mysterious claim from an anti-bullying charity which is itself not without controversy and  apparently endorsed by leading Tories, that ‘three or four’  unidentified people had called and sought advice on matters relating to the working atmosphere in 10 Downing Street.

Workplace bullying does exist and it is very unpleasant indeed for those subjected to it. Let us be clear, however, that the kind of bullying that I am repelled by is not what is being discussed in the present media feast. It is a singular achievement to be chosen to work at the very heart of the nation’s government. Nobody has to do it. Anyone who does can leave at any time. So spectacular is the entry on a C.V that a new posting, even in the recession, will come easily.

That there are shouting and tempers behind that famous door is not in doubt. Nor is that new. Churchill became so unpleasant at one point in the war that officials approached his wife for help and she wrote Winston a letter of reproach. Margaret Thatcher was kind and thoughtful to her staff but allegedly reduced her less robust male ministers to tears when their performance fell short. Heath was difficult.  Major referred to his cabinet colleagues as bastards. The story goes on. Some Prime Ministers are calm, but that does not mean they are better leaders or more competent. Blair and all those wars for example.

Gordon Brown is a towering political figure who dwarfs most of those around him in the same way as Thatcher. He, more than Blair, is the force behind Labour’s re-birth and rise to power, after eighteen years out of office. I do not agree with many of his policies and particularly not in regard to the credit crunch, but his leadership at that point both here an overseas saved us all from a meltdown of our entire way of life. He is chronically indecisive on some issues but in a crisis he, like Churchill whose personal flaws were legion, is the man.

He began this election campaign in his own words as the underdog, but bit by bit the gap in the polls is narrowing. These polls now point to a Tory lead that would fail to give Cameron a majority. This is not really due to Brown’s success. It is much more to do with Cameron’s failure and a Tory campaign which is rapidly losing credibility. The Tories needed a break. There is something very odd about this bullying business. Not so much the book. These things happen in politics. More about  the charity. I smell a rat there.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 12:50 pm and is filed under Malcolm Blair Robinson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.