So yesterday I predicted that Gordon Brown was on the way out of Number 10 because of the actions of James Purnell, indeed I even thought he might quit within a week. Well today i’m not as sure. While today could certainly not be described as the best day ever for the Prime Minister (far from it actually) it didn’t appear to be the knockout blow many were expecting.
Sure, we had quite a few Cabinet resignations including Hoon and Hutton, but the reshuffle appears to have gone off ok. Some believed that after Purnell’s resignation and public criticism of Brown others in the Cabinet would follow suit, but in reality that didn’t happen. John Hutton, who used to be a major critic of Gordon Brown, today stressed his support for Brown despite his resignation. Of course that’s the public view, whether this is still his feeling in private remains to be seen.
However I think the worst aspect of all of today’s events was Caroline Flint’s resignation letter, announced during the Prime Ministers reshuffle press conference! Her letter was a very personal attack on the Prime Minister who she accused of using her and other female ministers as “window dressing”. Flint has been replaced as Minister for Europe by Glenys Kinnock (former MEP and wife of former Labour Party leader) – who saw that coming? And Sir Alan Sugar becomes Lord Alan Sugar and a sort of Business Tsar! Could make the next series of the Apprentice interesting!
Anyway no matter how bad different people think the day was, it certainly seems clear that the Prime Minister has no intention of standing down at least in the short term. The Guardian is reporting that those Labour MPs plotting against the PM plan to regroup this weekend and start again next week, will it be enough to topple Brown? I’m not too sure.
