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THE UNPAID YORKSHIRE POST |
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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11 July 2005 |
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Tony’s on a roll. Last week had its wild fluctuations but each turn of fortune was so well handled by the Great Helmsman that even the downs put him up.
First the Olympics, a genuine success which the nation basked in, though perhaps more because the French lost than because we won. Then Gleneagles. A carefully balanced coalition of Tony, Bono and Geldof bullied and blasted the G8 into actually doing something for the rest of the world. Not a complete success. Indeed what was successful was done by Gordon. But the London bombs then distracted attention from all that as Tony captured the national mood. No powerful phrases this time. Alistair is in New Zealand. But a haunted, haggard, look which summed up a nation’s grief.
So the great actor manager is back in command of the stage. He`s doing so well that his critics are beginning to mutter in despair that he’s never going to go. They may be right. Prime Ministers never want to go. Harold Wilson is the only one in my recollection who was sufficiently modest to think what none of those around him would tell him “Time to go”. Everyone else always decides that the time is never ripe.
So Gordon is becoming uneasy. You can tell by the way that his friends are beginning to infer that when he comes to the throne Gordon will cancel the barmy Identity Cards scheme.
He should have done that before of course. Instead he allowed Charles Clarke to announce that he would cap the cost to the public at £100. That almost certainly means a huge Exchequer subsidy as costs escalate, and they surely will.
Gordon has almost certainly noticed that the cost threat becomes enormous just at the times when the next two elections are likely. That will mean that he’ll be trying to win votes from an electorate which, by then, will have gone very sour on the Insane Cards and will be getting tired of Labour.
So if he really is going to chuck them out, Gordon must act and succeed to the throne quickly. Wait for two more years and the big expenditure will be beginning to bite. The computer firm installing the biggest computer system in the world will have written huge penalty clauses for compensation if the contract is cancelled. Will that remove Gordon’s usual caution? Once the big spending begins his choice is between coming in as an unpopular Prime Minister or staying on as a bankrupt Chancellor forced to spend huge sums in London for the Olympic build up and able to give the North nothing except a bit of plastic it doesn’t want.
Alistair Campbell’s absence in New Zealand allows us to observe his classic techniques from 13,000 miles away. With the All Blacks predictably triumphant and the Lions rubbish, Alistair has rushed to distract attention from the disaster by launching a full scale onslaught on the Kiwis for crippling the Lions’ captain.
With opponents as feeble as the British Tory Party that technique always worked in Britain. In New Zealand it cuts no ice. Not only are the All Blacks too tough to be criticised but everyone knows they’re killers. “What the hell did he expect?” has been the prevailing response. But I still want Alistair back in Downing St. Tony’s not been as good since he left.
There are symptoms of a mild rebellion by Labour`s Parliamentary Committee. It`s changed some of the Select Committee appointments made by the Whips.
Whips want to use any appointments as patronage, promoting friends and ex-ministers, rejecting critics and anyone Tony doesn`t like – a growing proportion of the PLP. The elected Parliamentary Committee is more aware of the need for balance and directly answerable to MPs. So it`s defended Gwyneth Dunwoody and rejected the automatic appointment of ex-ministers like Nick Raynsford. It hasn`t pushed too many rebels on but it`s probably done enough to avoid a mass revolt such as we had last time. |
