Newspapers say Gordon Brown has been badly damaged by his decision not to call an election after allowing speculation to rise over an early vote.
The Conservatives say the episode has shown the prime minster as weak and indecisive.
They will relish the chance of accusing him of being “Bottler Brown” for weeks to come.
But Justice Secretary Jack Straw says the incident has not damaged Brown and will soon be forgotten.
“When the history of this period comes to be written, there won’t be a chapter devoted to the last 10 days in British politics, not even half a paragraph,” he told BBC Radio. “This will pass.”
What do you think? Is this just a fleeting storm in the famous Westminster teacup, or will it be seen as a defining moment in Brown’s career?
Send us your comments.
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9 comments so far
What do you expect from a lifelong student “career politician” who has never had a job, employed anyone or ever done something in the real economy? He’s not going to risk this “career” for anyone - it’s all about Brown not the country.
- Posted by Iain MacfarlaneHave people forgotten so soon what Brown has done over the last 10 years to the Pensions, saving schemes etc. Did people not notice his demenour, dress sense, all over attire when he recently met represenatatives from Burma at No 10. He is the leader of our country for goodness sake and he can’t even look interested. As for the Chancellor Darlng, he is just a mouthpeice for Brown. Brown is still the powerhouse and he still has great difficulty telling the truth or answering straight forward questions.
- Posted by Malcolm DavisNope. At Cambridge, as a Grammar school boy, I was subjected to exactly the same form of bullying by some of the very same people. Loud taunts about something I had absolutely no interest in doing, and they know I had absolutely no interest in doing, followed by even louder taunts of “bottling it” (a new phrase in those days! but a bit tired now) when I ignored them as one should ignore any bullies.
If some cabinet ministers let slip some ambiguous remarks which only encouraged them to rush around even more excitedly - well, who can blame them?
Surely few would have thought, when David Cameron vowed to bring and end to “yah-boo’ politics, that it was because he found it too mature and too challenging….
- Posted by Ian KemmishWhat can you say, bottler brown has lost his bottle as well as his Brain.
He has just lost the next Election, there is going to be carnage in the housing Market, and old Brown Ale should have called it, before it called him.
There were 10 Green botles and BROWN fell out
Bye Bye Gordon
Richard P W14
- Posted by Richard PNot at all. Mr Brown and the Labour Party have a mandate to run the country until 2010 if they like, and are under no obligation to call an election - something that even the woman in the newsagents this morning didn’t seem to understand!
- Posted by AdrianObviously Brown would have called an election if the polls indicated a win, because it would have guaranteed him another 2 years to impose his “vision” on the country. The polls didn’t support a win, so he decided to make do with the three years that he’s got. Note his emphasis on “constitutional changes” and bear in mind that Brown is a genuine Old Labour Socialist and the Socialist Project is everything. We can expect that the “changes” he refers to will be aimed at further embedding Socialist control mechanisms into the country’s administration and buying more votes in the public sector to improve his chances in 2010.
- Posted by Mike TIt’s all irrelevant, it’s a such a little thing in the big scheme of things.
- Posted by SteveAnd it will soon be forgotten.
When politicians speak of honest and decent, what do they mean? Does it mean something different to them than it does to us?
Government by opinion polls is what we have here.
Is it me, or does it feel like we’re being managed not governed.
Spike D
- Posted by Spike DSo Jack Straw got it right. All much ado about nothing. Lighting a fire under Tory fatcats was much needed and the sooner they get rid of Cameron the better, there is no leadership material there. 10/10 to Brown for doing what was obviously going to happen…
- Posted by michael sheldon