PM chooses his words carefully
NEW YORK: The Masters of the Universe today welcomed the man who wants to save the world.
Gordon Brown breakfasted with the bankers of Wall Street. His message to the men and women he's blamed for causing the global economic crisis - it's now up to governments to sort out the mess.
What - he was asked - about the warning from the Governor of the Bank that his government simply can't afford to spend and borrow more? The prime minister chose his words very carefully.
"What the issue is, actually now, is whether we are prepared, given what happens over the next few months to do what is necessary to resume growth in the economy and I think if you put that question to Mervyn King, he will say as he said when he signed the G20 communique - that we have got to be ready to take the action that is necessary to restore growth".
The prime minister does not regard that phrase as a statement of the obvious. By agreeing to it he believes that the Governor and other world leaders have not ruled out further spending and borrowing if they prove necessary.
However, he went on to downplay talk of another stimulus by stressing that cuts in interests rates and so called monetary easing could achieve the same goals.
The debate about whether his economic cure could be worse than the disease has not just followed him to America. It is mirrored here in warnings from Republicans that President Obama risks burdening this country with debts worthy of a third world country.
Page 1 of 2
Comment number 1.
At 18:26 25th Mar 2009, oldrightie wrote:Did anyone ask about Dan Hannans video? After all the most viewed today and very much on Brown's financial efforts?
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Comment number 2.
At 18:32 25th Mar 2009, rammie1962 wrote:hell no, more stimuli for our Gordy!, after all Japan is already contemplating a 3rd stimulus, so gordy won't want to be left behind.... surely? lol
I suppose Gordy was all tightlipped on todays gilt bombshell, for our sake and his sanity, lets hope its not the beginning of a trend!!
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Comment number 3.
At 18:36 25th Mar 2009, labourbankruptedusall wrote:"we have got to be ready to take the action that is necessary to restore growth".
"The prime minister does not regard that phrase as a statement of the obvious."
In that case, the PM is self-evidently either completely bonkers, or negligent beyond belief. Either way nobody should listen to anything he says.
Is anyone listening to him anymore (apart from the BBC) ?
I only listen to him to get an idea of how much worse he's going to make things before we have a change of government.
Maybe the leaders of the world at the G20 should listen to him in a similar way, ie listen to what he says and then do the exact opposite, because whatever he says is always a recipe for total financial annihilation.
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Comment number 4.
At 18:49 25th Mar 2009, saga mix wrote:yes, if we're a little concerned about OUR level of government debt (as I think most of us are) then, gee whizz, the Americans must be downright worried - their numbers are of a different order altogether
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Comment number 5.
At 18:50 25th Mar 2009, newsjock wrote:The UK Government would have us think of the Great Gordon pouring out pearls for the rest of the world to gratefully scoop up.
The rest of the world look on the Prime Minister as a cock crowing on top of a financial dung heap (ie Britain).
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Comment number 6.
At 18:53 25th Mar 2009, PortcullisGate wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 7.
At 18:56 25th Mar 2009, kaybraes wrote:What bit of " neither the world's bankers nor the world's politicians think Brown's solution to the problem is of any use " do you find hard to understand Nick ? It's not working, things are deteriorating,the Labour sychophants and hangers on are deserting the ship, but Brown still believes he is some kind of statesmanlike figure , saving the world. He is either in denial or he is deliberately attempting to salvage Labour votes at the expense of the country,and whatever the consequences to the economy,believing he can somehow win an election, and then "something will turn up " to dig Britain out of the hole his incompetence has dragged us into.
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Comment number 8.
At 19:00 25th Mar 2009, valdan70 wrote:#Rammie 1962.
Do you mean today's repeat of the Gilts bombshell in 1995, when Ken Clarke was Chancellor?
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Comment number 9.
At 19:01 25th Mar 2009, sagablonde wrote:So the BBC does not serve its viewers then?
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Comment number 10.
At 19:10 25th Mar 2009, davidterron wrote:And why absolutely NO mention of the Dan Hannan video - currently most popular on youtube and frontpaged by Drudge? What the heck are we paying 3 billion for each year? Disgusting!
The BBC - we only report what Brown tells us.....
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Comment number 11.
At 19:11 25th Mar 2009, davidterron wrote:And why is it taking 45-60 mins to moderate comments? Again what the heck are you lot wasting OUR 3 billion on?
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Comment number 12.
At 19:19 25th Mar 2009, Economicallyliterate wrote:Daniel Hannon's google score is up to 361,000 from 231,000 from 5PM to 7.20 tonight.
It seems everyone but the Brown Broadcasting Corporation is talking about it.
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Comment number 13.
At 19:29 25th Mar 2009, TallyHo wrote:"However, he went on to downplay talk of another stimulus by stressing that cuts in interests rates and so called monetary easing could achieve the same goals."
Interest rates are already cut to the bone, and today's gilts auction failure means that no-one wants to buy UK government debt. That leaves printing money which, with GDP forecast to fall a whopping 16% during the recession, means hyperinflation.
I'm reading a book called 'The Nazis - a Warning from History'. Hitler tried all the above during the 30s, but when he couldn't pay back his debts he invaded his neighbours... at least he'd taken the precaution of covertly re-arming first.
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Comment number 14.
At 19:30 25th Mar 2009, UK-SILENT-MAJORITY wrote:He did what he always does, denies anything that either puts his integrity or his policies into question.
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Comment number 15.
At 19:32 25th Mar 2009, maggiemaggiemaggie wrote:Brown has not had to pursuade any democratic body in the UK of the merits of his case, unlike the USA, there has not been a single vote on his spending plans. But just maybe the markets (and the Bank of England) are finally saying 'steady on old chap, do you really know what you are doing?'. Well if they are, they may already be starting to believe he hasn't a clue.
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Comment number 16.
At 19:33 25th Mar 2009, sicilian29 wrote:Gordon Brown is like a soldier stepping carefully through a minefield of ever increasing problems trying desperately to extricate himself from a sticky situation of his own making. He continues to be a busted flush and should consider stepping out of the limelight if he is to save face.
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Comment number 17.
At 19:33 25th Mar 2009, maas101 wrote:Go on Nick,
Dan Hannan's video is now the most watched you-tube video worldwide today. I think it deserves at least a blog post. Actually I think it deserves a spot on the BBC news tonight but I guess that's just wishful thinking.
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Comment number 18.
At 19:37 25th Mar 2009, John Moss wrote:Brown has bankrupted Britain. We face a gilts strike and a plunging currency, all signs of the markets deciding we may not be able to pay up when the time comes to settle the bill.
Regulation, designed by Brown, failed utterly. Why would anybody trust him to lead an effort to redesign regulation? His system failed its first test in Northern Rock and its failed ever since. He even put Lloyds and HBoS together - why wreck one bank when you can wreck two!
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Comment number 19.
At 19:38 25th Mar 2009, The_Guvnor wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 20.
At 19:44 25th Mar 2009, Crowded Island wrote:Brown is so obviously electioneering in everything he does and says, why doesn't he just put us out of our misery and call an election? We need a new Government with a mandate which covers the next 5 years - instead we have a self appointed PM who only worries about the next 12 months - the future can go hang as far as he is concerned!
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Comment number 21.
At 19:46 25th Mar 2009, christianpotterman wrote:Do you think that one day Nick Robinson may actually give a view on the news or in his blog where he is actually critical of Gordon Brown and the Labour government.
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Comment number 22.
At 19:49 25th Mar 2009, Pipgold wrote:I am disappointed that the BBC have not seen fit to refer to Dan Hannans blog and video on youtube. His critique is pure gold - direct - honest and with clarity. This is so relevant to the current P.M.s trip and speaks for many. In the U.S. it is being widely covered - on Fox and The Drudge Report plus many talk shows and radio stations.
So - you may not agree with him, but many, many (168,000 views as I write) do agree and want his views covered.
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Comment number 23.
At 20:05 25th Mar 2009, alexandercurzon wrote:OH YAWN: SO NOW GORDY IS OFF TO SAVE THE WORLD HA HA??
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Comment number 24.
At 20:07 25th Mar 2009, MaxSceptic wrote:The Czech PM - who will be meeting Obama at the G20 meeting in his role as EU President - said today that Obama's plans for further fiscal stimulus were "the way to hell".
He is saying in plain terms what the Germans, French and others (including many Americans) also believe.
Will Brown suck up to Obama or to the EU?
Will the choice tear him in two?
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Comment number 25.
At 20:10 25th Mar 2009, PortcullisGate wrote:The House Rules are here to ensure that our community areas are safe and enjoyable places to be. They are used by our moderators to check whether messages are suitable for others to read. They allow us to remove messages which:
Are likely to cause offense to other people
May cause legal problems
Reveal personal details that could endanger personal safety
DON'T CRITISIZE THE BBC OR NICK
Its getting to the stage where its not worth bothering posting on here. Tow the party line or else
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Comment number 26.
At 20:11 25th Mar 2009, ronreagan wrote:Sagamix and Valdan - the Clown and rob the peoples party apparatchiks and apologists. Roll on 2010 and the end of ALL that this bunch of hypocrites and snouts in trough sleazeballs stand for.
GOODBYE ZANULABOUR.
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Comment number 27.
At 20:14 25th Mar 2009, Span Ows wrote:"The prime minister chose his words very carefully"...
"What the issue is, actually now, is whether we are prepared, given what happens over the next few months to do what is necessary to resume growth in the economy and I think if you put that question to Mervyn King, he will say as he said when he signed the G20 communique - that we have got to be ready to take the action that is necessary to restore growth".
eh?
Ah, I see...he said nothing of meaning or substance and avoided answering the question! Plus ça change.
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Comment number 28.
At 20:17 25th Mar 2009, topchat wrote:As I understand reports of the breakfast meeting organised by the WSJ, Gordon Brown was faced with polite disbelief about his remedies for economic stimulation. As The Times puts it; "There was no lack of ambition in his rhetoric as he claimed a new international consensus was emerging to create “the new global society”. But one questioner characterised a mood of polite scepticism in which he was being heard when he asked how Mr Brown was going to achieve this task in a single day."
And the US media is reporting the Hannan speech quite prominently - I've read, and watched, quite a few items about this and they seem all pro-Hannan and dismissive of Brown's speech at the European Parliament.
Pay attention, Nick, or are you claiming jet lag?
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Comment number 29.
At 20:27 25th Mar 2009, Span Ows wrote:@valdan70
"Do you mean today's repeat of the Gilts bombshell in 1995, when Ken Clarke was Chancellor?"
but not such a bombshell: a tale of two auctions:
"More worrying for the Treasury, offered yields increased. The "tail", which measures the difference between the highest accepted yield and the average yield doubled."
https://ukhousebubble.blogspot.com/2009/03/tale-of-two-auctions.html
or even...
https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6KhEW.jkmdE&refer=home
Bloomberg: The U.K. had two failures in the past 10 years, the most recent in September 2002 when the Treasury received bids for 95 percent of the 900 million pounds of 30-year inflation-protected bonds offered, according to the DMO’s Web site. The other failure was in 1999, when it tried to sell 500 million pounds of inflation-protected bonds.
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Comment number 30.
At 20:29 25th Mar 2009, Steve_M-H wrote:8#
Or the failures of gilt auctions in 1998 and 2002 when the Dear Leader was the Chancellor??? The ones the BBC DOESNT report?
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Comment number 31.
At 20:40 25th Mar 2009, logica_sine_vanitate wrote:I have just been perusing the Socialist International website: www.socialistinternational.org
The British Labour Party is a member of the Socialist International, and so I would imagine that Gordon Brown would agree with the current thinking of this group concerning how the global recession ought to be tackled. However, I was surprised to read the following comments on this website, which rather proves that Mr Brown's policies are not even supported by some of his own co-idealogues.
Here are a few quotations from Andres Velasco, who was appointed by the ruling Socialist Party of Chile to be that country's finance minister. The comments are taken from a paper circulated in advance to the members of the first meeting of the Socialist International Commission on Global Financial Issues. It is downloadable from the SI website and therefore it has the endorsement of SI. [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
"Prior to the crisis, Chile and other emerging countries took measures that will cushion them against its impact. Learning from their experience in the crises of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, a number of emerging economies, including Chile, improved market regulation, particularly that of financial markets, while reducing borrowing and strengthening their fiscal situation. The same cannot be said of most developed countries.
"In previous international crises, emerging countries were at a disadvantage due to chronic fiscal deficits, a high level of public debt and an exchange-rate mismatch in the form of short-term dollar-denominated borrowing that became very difficult to service in a context of financial stress. However, Chile corrected these problems through prudent fiscal management and by paying down public debt, thereby reducing the vulnerability of its economy. Moreover, taking this process a step further, it introduced a fiscal rule under which it saves in boom periods and, by law, created sovereign wealth funds designed precisely to protect its economy against this type of adverse external shocks.
"Had the world’s largest economies also learned these two lessons, the story today might be different. Lack of financial regulation and supervision helped trigger the crisis, while fiscal weakness and large public debts hinder governments' ability to engineer countercyclical policies."
It would be perhaps useful if Mr Brown could take note of what even fellow socialists are saying!
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Comment number 32.
At 20:41 25th Mar 2009, Gthecelt wrote:Goodness the arrogance of Gordon is unbelievable. Not only dismissing King's warnings with a gentle push aside, but lecturing bankers who he has constantly blamed for the predicament we face. I suggest when gets home he starts with the man in the mirror and works his way next door, then down the road to the Treasury and all other government departments over the last 11 years.
Let's pray the Queen is now aware of the situation and is willing to act to save our country.
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Comment number 33.
At 20:42 25th Mar 2009, Blogpolice wrote:Tax, borrow and waste. And when that does not work borrow some more. Did Gordon do Maths at school?
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Comment number 34.
At 20:47 25th Mar 2009, labourwipeout wrote:Nick is it just me who has no idea what Browns "answer" actually means ?
As usual it was wordy bluster which didnt actually answer the question.
It did contain a warning to wee Merv to get his ar*e back in line though !
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Comment number 35.
At 20:53 25th Mar 2009, StrongholdBarricades wrote:What I find most interesting from your entry is the part that isn't a direct quote.
Were the clunking fists raining down at the time?
Hopefully the Governor's comments will enable a reappraisal of the debt burden being passed to our grandchildren by Crash and Burn
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Comment number 36.
At 20:54 25th Mar 2009, robatkins wrote:Have you commented on Dan Dannan's speech at the EC Mr Robinson ? If not, why not ? Why is that not news ? The YouTube community clearly believe it is, as do I.
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Comment number 37.
At 20:56 25th Mar 2009, Beer_x_1 wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 38.
At 20:56 25th Mar 2009, ballard92 wrote:Perhaps I have missed it but there seems to be nothing here on the Daniel Hannan speech! It's the best speech of the year and number 1 video on Youtube. Dear old aunty, desperately out of touch ... again. That's assuming the lack of coverage is not something more sinister.
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Comment number 39.
At 20:58 25th Mar 2009, tykejim wrote:#12. Economicallyliterate wrote:
"Daniel Hannon's google score is up to 361,000 from 231,000 from 5PM to 7.20 tonight."
Well I guess that a lot of people would have watched Eddie the Eagle try to ski jump, or more recently John Sargent try to dance - but not because they were seen as brilliant exponents of either activity. Having watched it (the EU Parliament snippet) myself, I think Hannon is well characterised as the Eddie Eagle of politics in that he looks the part until you actually analyse what he says.
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Comment number 40.
At 21:05 25th Mar 2009, saga mix wrote:david terron @ 10
And why absolutely NO mention of the Derek Hannan video - currently most popular on youtube and frontpaged by Drudge?
if it's on the front page of DRUDGE, what are you worried about, for heaven's sake? - everyone who matters reads Drudge, don't they? - hey and I bet Littlejohn bigs it up in the Sun too
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Comment number 41.
At 21:10 25th Mar 2009, tarquin wrote:12
That'd be why all the newspapers are running it as well then...
Keep on making it a viral, play it on big screens in a town or something - then someone might actually report it
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Comment number 42.
At 21:26 25th Mar 2009, darobsta wrote:Wait, you're getting paid goodness knows how much to be a journalist. You've now taken off around the world following GB (when you could simply comment from camera feed, and I don't buy all this "atmosphere" junk) and all you can muster per day is a couple of hundred words. If my output was that measly at work I'd find myself out the door pretty quick. Hope you're having fun (as I can't begin to think what else you're doing).
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Comment number 43.
At 21:35 25th Mar 2009, Steve_M-H wrote:The only words he hasnt chosen carefully yet, but he should....
"I resign"
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Comment number 44.
At 21:36 25th Mar 2009, telecasterdave wrote:Teflon Brown is at it again. Watch out King as you will soon be the knave.
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Comment number 45.
At 21:39 25th Mar 2009, moraymint wrote:Common sense anybody? National debt going off the charts. The state intervening in our lives left, right and centre. The impression that our political elite are making this up as they go along, with the express aim of holding on to power (and second home allowances). Time for revolution methinks.
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Comment number 46.
At 21:41 25th Mar 2009, masterdevonian wrote:Prime Minister, I see you’ve already mastered the essential craft of this Parliament – that being to say one thing in this chamber, and a very different thing to your home electorate. You’ve spoken here about free trade, and amen to that; who would have guessed, listening to you just now, that you were the author of the phrase ‘British Jobs for British Workers’, and that you have subsidised – where you have not nationalised outright – swathes of our economy, including the car industry and many of the banks.
Perhaps you would have more moral authority in this house if your actions matched your words. Perhaps you would have more legitimacy in the councils of the world if the United Kingdom were not going into this recession in the worst condition of any G20 country.
The truth, Prime Minister, is that you have run out of our money. The country as a whole is now in negative equity. Every British child is born owing around £20,000. Servicing the interest on that debt is going to cost more than educating the child.
Now once again today you tried to spread the blame around, you spoke about an international recession; an international crisis. Well, it is true that we are all sailing together into the squall – but not every vessel in the convoy is in the same dilapidated condition. Other ships used the good years to caulk their hulls and clear up their rigging – in other words, to pay off debt – but you used the good years to raise borrowing yet further. As a consequence, under your captaincy, our hull is pressed deep into the water line, under the accumulated weight of your debt. We are now running a deficit that touches almost 10% of GDP – an unbelievable figure. More than Pakistan, more than Hungary – countries where the IMF has already been called in.
Now, it’s not that you’re not apologising – like everyone else, I’ve long accepted that you’re pathologically incapable of these things – it’s that you’re carrying on, wilfully worsening the situation, wantonly spending what little we have left. Last year, in the last twelve months, 125,000 private sector jobs have been lost – and yet you’ve created 30,000 public sector jobs. Prime Minister you cannot go on forever squeezing the productive bit of the economy in order to fund an unprecedented engorging of the unproductive bit.
You cannot spend your way out of recession or borrow your way out of debt. And when you repeat, in that wooden and perfunctory way, that our situation is better than others, that we’re well place to weather the storm, I have to tell you, you sound like a Brezhnev-era Apparatchik giving the party line. You know, and we know, and you know that we know that it’s nonsense. Everyone knows that Britain is the worst placed to go into these hard times. The IMF has said so. The European Commission has said so. The markets have said so, which is why our currency has devalued by 30% – and soon the voters, too, will get their chance to say so.
They can see what the markets have already seen: that you are a devalued Prime Minister, of a devalued Government.
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Comment number 47.
At 21:50 25th Mar 2009, Attersee wrote:I too shall "choose my words carefully":
"My sea cucumber, like all those things, has manufactured too much coleslaw this circumference. I therefore think that if you paint a picture in reverse, someone, somewhere, knows that Moira Stuart is hovering ever so gently above the alarm clocks."
My! This is fun. Can I have a go at being PM too?
I really did have to "choose my words carefully" and do you know what? Upon the most cursory glance, they don't actually seem to mean anything.
Hatstand.
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Comment number 48.
At 21:51 25th Mar 2009, The_Guvnor wrote:I'm very sorry BBC but I am simply not going to accept that my posting was unacceptable and therefore needed to be stopped to protect the public from my acerbic and indeed critical to the up-most of the current U.S.A. administration.
My posting was very reasoned and indeed constructive and if indeed inviting viewers to a rival channel 'FOX News' is breaking rules then so be it.
The facts are however that contrary to the propaganda you spread here in the UK that Obama is somehow some god like figure that is beyond even question or critique is beneath contempt.
If you check out the links you blocked everyone else from seeing even though they are freely available then maybe you will see the pettiness of your existance.
If they even allow this to be published if you where to type in say "barney frank" and "o'reilly loses it" onto 'YouTube' then you may see some critical journalism.
Still, I expect this to be sensored, still, thankfully there are other blogs to get the message across...
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Comment number 49.
At 21:53 25th Mar 2009, Economicallyliterate wrote:Still nothing on Mr Hannen then Nick?
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Comment number 50.
At 21:57 25th Mar 2009, AqualungCumbria wrote:Just how much are these jaunts costing the Tax payer ?? it would be prudent to cut back on expenses in hard times but i suppose because he doesn't have to pay it out of his own pocket it just gets put on the tax payers tab.
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Comment number 51.
At 21:57 25th Mar 2009, starquin10 wrote:I note that the Governer has also had an audience with the QAueen. The 1st one during her reign. This cannot be coincidental.
Perhaps House Saxe-Coburg and Gotha are worried that their money will soon burn up under GB policies?
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Comment number 52.
At 22:06 25th Mar 2009, davidterron wrote:sagamix at 40:
It is not the point that it is front page in the USA! It IS the point that the dear old BBC haven't reported it !
Thank God Fern Britton resigned today otherwise they've have nothing to lead their news with to cover up this glaring omission! Wonder what the Government and BBC will try and slip out under cover of Goody's funeral.....
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Comment number 53.
At 22:13 25th Mar 2009, sicilian29 wrote:And throughout it all that same annoying, condescending cheshire cat smile. Ugh!
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Comment number 54.
At 22:14 25th Mar 2009, jiminhursley wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 55.
At 22:31 25th Mar 2009, the-real-truth wrote:Nick
Have you put hannans speech in your bottom draw with the oleg/mandleson/yahct file?
BBC don't seem to have any trace of it.
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Comment number 56.
At 22:33 25th Mar 2009, Eatonrifle wrote:For pitties sake Nick say something about Hannan will you, I can't stand the sulking any more.
The fact that some obscure Right wing Eurosceptic Tory MEP slags off the Prime Minister when he has no right of reply seems to have got the Tory blog drones arroused.
Come on Nick say something, after all if its on the ultra neutral Fox News it should be on the Beeb also.
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Comment number 57.
At 22:34 25th Mar 2009, T A Griffin (TAG) wrote:Nick,
with regard to the statement by Milliband relating to the inquiry into Iraq when exactly was the last time that our so called combat troops in Basra actually got involved in any actual combat. From what I understand we have thousands of troops there but because of local agreements and our ignominious defeat from the Palace they have actually withdrawn completely from the 'action'.
Accordingly, we have been doing nothing but preparing to retreat completely leaving a few hundred advisers. Funny that there will be another Stop the War protest which the government will say is a waste of time because there will be an inquiry. Only trouble is that it will not be in public and not during this pathetic parliament.
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Comment number 58.
At 22:41 25th Mar 2009, StrongholdBarricades wrote:Nick,
Is this last ditch attempt by Brown really to drum up support for his Gilts auctions.
After all it might need a "global" response to ensure that they're all bought
Maybe we should pay all the civil service bonuses in Gilts to give them a stake in the debt and re-enforce the no reward for failure
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Comment number 59.
At 22:46 25th Mar 2009, easterross wrote:so Nick when is the BBC going to admit it has become the official mouthpiece of the Labour Government. A leading MEP makes a speech in the European Parliament which almost one third of a million people watch and the BBC doesn't consider it to be newsworthy. But the BBC decides that a councillor in Essex resigning and defecting to Labour is so newsworthy it gets "tickertaped".
If the BBC doesn't quickly learn the meaning of impartiality, not only will your Euro Election and General Election coverage be open to formal complaint but after the General Election there will be few people resisting calls for you to be sold off.
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Comment number 60.
At 22:47 25th Mar 2009, princeJamesBorley wrote:Nearly 200,000 views of Dan Hannans amazing speech that everyone British citizen should hear and no mention of it on the BBC website - why not?
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Comment number 61.
At 22:53 25th Mar 2009, GMTrevelyan wrote:"Did anyone ask about Dan Hannans video? After all the most viewed today and very much on Brown's financial efforts?"
No, as far as "Pravda" are concerned it didn't happen. Despite the fact it has now been viewed a quarter of a million times. I guess neither that nor the speech itself are news, but having the Dear Leader plastered across our screens grinning away as if there was no crisis is somehow important.
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Comment number 62.
At 22:59 25th Mar 2009, secularrepublican wrote:Nick, please ask Gordon, Alastair, Harriet and Jacqui to make public statements condemning the attack on Sir Fred Goodwin's home.
He has cost me a lot of money and emotional pain, I disagree with the way he has behaved and performed, I think he should be defrocked (or whatever the equivalent term is for knighthoods), and his actions may yet cost me much more, but I am very concerned that the rule of the mob is on the rise.
It is right that legal redress should be explored. It is right that he should be attacked verbally. It is wrong that laws should be rewritten or he or his property should be attacked.
Nick, if the Fab Four decline to criticise his attackers, I would suggest you have an even bigger political story than Robert's economic accounts of the RBS collapse.
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Comment number 63.
At 23:15 25th Mar 2009, Wyrdtimes wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 64.
At 23:27 25th Mar 2009, secularrepublican wrote:Nick, I had never heard of an obscure MEP called Daniel Hannan until I read the comments on your blog tonight. Now I have viewed YouTube. As a generic trivial MEP, he has understandably deserved negligible airspace. However, as an articulate, incisive, focused critic of Gordon whose recent attack has now rightly gained momentum in our shared Web 2.0 world, I think his challenging criticism deserves mention in your blog. Don't you ?
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Comment number 65.
At 23:29 25th Mar 2009, D_H_Wilko wrote:Who's Dennis Hannon? and why do need to watch his video so many times? Is his speech difficult to understand?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 65)
Comment number 66.
At 23:32 25th Mar 2009, the-real-truth wrote:secularrepublican
If the goverenment refuse to represent the people, then it can hardly be surprising that people choose to represent themselves.
If people aren't listened to, and aren't alowed to express themselves directly what do you think they should do next?
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Comment number 67.
At 23:32 25th Mar 2009, Wyrdtimes wrote:I no longer regard myself as British - I'm English and only English - but Brown is still an embarrassment as he's from the same island.
What's with the hand/arm jerk thing? Can't someone tell him about it?
Our "Prime Minister" - the unelected, unwanted, supremely inept man that he is offers lectures on avarice from the position of supreme incompetence that got us into this mess in the first place.
Didn't he abolish boom and bust a while back?
He is living in a fantasy world. He is completely and utterly insane.
Home rule for England.
--
What part of the truth don't you like?
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Comment number 68.
At 23:36 25th Mar 2009, Neil Sutherland wrote:Nick
I'm going to join the baying mob and ask why you are not going to discuss the Daniel Hannan speech and will will continue until you do so.
No one cares what you write now.
GB won't answer a single straight question so why should we discuss your ridiculous blog.
The Hannan speech is going round and round the world and no matter what you do to throw a protective shield over your beloved leader, the clamour of truth is getting louder and will drown out your propaganda in the end.
We're getting close to the end now.
May it come swiftly.
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Comment number 69.
At 23:44 25th Mar 2009, D_H_Wilko wrote:re the Darren Hannon video
He must have all his friends and family out promoting this on every blog, while watching it repeatedly. He was rubbish. His insults were rubbish and his blog is probably rubbish. Some people are very easily pleased.
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Comment number 70.
At 00:07 26th Mar 2009, sagalight wrote:"What - he was asked - about the warning from the Governor of the Bank that his government simply can't afford to spend and borrow more?".
King is trumps when jokers run wild.
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Comment number 71.
At 00:10 26th Mar 2009, subedeithemomgol wrote:No 25 said:
The House Rules are here to ensure that our community areas are safe and enjoyable places to be. They are used by our moderators to check whether messages are suitable for others to read. They allow us to remove messages which:
Are likely to cause offense to other people
May cause legal problems
Reveal personal details that could endanger personal safety
----- ----- ----- -----
That's interesting. Whenever I've watched BBC news recently every story about Sir Fred Goodwin has shown a photograph of his "Edinburgh home", just to ram home the government message that Sir Fred is the devil incarnate.
Now they have a reporter there, reporting on an attack on the home.
Double standards?
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Comment number 72.
At 00:12 26th Mar 2009, saga mix wrote:dhw @ 65
Who's Dennis Hannon?
oh come on, where have you been? - the Winston Churchill de nos jours, that's who
and it's Derek
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Comment number 73.
At 00:21 26th Mar 2009, Roswell894 wrote:Nick
Your comments seem to be lacking the acerbic wit that normally comes freely with your blog. Your words are somewhat lacking in the personal perspective. Why not the usual sarcastic, barely disguised incredulous commment? Are you afraid of not getting your story from Lord Mandy and the army of Spin Doctors?
I hope you are not pulling your punches. Those at the Bank of England don't seem to be. Of what are you afraid?
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Comment number 74.
At 00:26 26th Mar 2009, threnodio wrote:#67 - englandrise
"What part of the truth don't you like?"
No problem with the truth. Opinion - well that is another question. Some of us recognise the distinction.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 74)
Comment number 75.
At 00:28 26th Mar 2009, thegangofone wrote:On one level you admire him for being "a politician".
But then you know he must know he has made bad mistakes.
You also know this has affected real people with devastating consequences.
He knows that, he also knows we will find out the truth eventually (maybe it isn't partially his fault but all of his reactions are consistent with that) and he holds his line for his party.
So then you lose all respect for him and his party.
Logical?
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Comment number 76.
At 01:04 26th Mar 2009, saga mix wrote:finally @ 168
The Hannan speech is going round and round the world
indeed ... and hopefully, on obtaining sufficient velocity, into orbit to join the Clangers
Complain about this comment (Comment number 76)
Comment number 77.
At 01:10 26th Mar 2009, saga mix wrote:england rise @ 67
I no longer regard myself as British - I'm English and only English
okay that's cool - I regard you as English, and only English, too then!
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Comment number 78.
At 02:49 26th Mar 2009, big__ted wrote:Hannan needs to blink more to appear slightly human.
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Comment number 79.
At 02:59 26th Mar 2009, oldnat wrote:#67 englandrise
"I no longer regard myself as British - I'm English and only English"
Coming from my perspective, that's only to be welcomed.
However, for those English Nationalists who are now expressing this admirable view, I do have a number of questions.
Where were you in 1989 when the poll tax was introduced by the Brits in Scotland, before you started rioting in 1990 when it was imposed in England?
Why were you not agitating in the 1970s for English Home Rule when a Labour Government was bringing England and the UK down? Was it because the then PMs were English (honest answers please).
Where were you, when the Labour Government of the day introduced a provision in the first referendum on Scottish Home Rule that 40% of the entire electoral roll (including the deceased) had to vote "Yes"?
I'm more than happy to see England running only its own affairs. Most Scots have no interest in running yours. Why did you ignore what was happening within the UK, and why are you so surprised by the effects of the "West Lothian question"? It was so obvious, and spelled out so often.
Why are so many of you so happy with a constitution that so obviously disenfranchises you? Why are so many English intent on whining about the unfairness, rather than demanding the obvious changes?
I'm sorry to say that you remind me of where the Scots were in the 1960s - that's not a good place to be. England needs to be a grown-up democracy which takes responsibility for its own affairs.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 79)
Comment number 80.
At 05:49 26th Mar 2009, ShirkingFromHome wrote:Am surprised that the BBC, especially you, have failed to pick up on Daniel Hannan's speech. It is available on YouTube.
How come so coy?
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Comment number 81.
At 07:05 26th Mar 2009, the-real-truth wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 82.
At 07:34 26th Mar 2009, T A Griffin (TAG) wrote:Nick,
the real opponents of the Obama spending spree are the followers of Ron Paul. All that people have to do is to refer to the Campaign for Liberty, maybe we could have the same here in the UK.
We are continually being placed under surveillance and subject to regulation, apparently now from the cradle to the grave. This must stop, we are all under threat.
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Comment number 83.
At 07:36 26th Mar 2009, skynine wrote:Nick
Will Gordon arrive back on UK soil and say "Crisis what crisis" or his normally preferred option "I will do everything in my power".
The papers today are full of talk about things going on while MacCavity is away. If I am allowed to quote from the Independent today:
"Conspiracy theorists could have had a field day as Meryvn King slipped into Alistair Darling's Commons office off a corridor behind the Speaker's chair at 4pm yesterday – especially as Gordon Brown was 3,400 miles away in New York.
A day earlier, the Governor of the Bank of England had constrained the Chancellor's room for manoeuvre in next month's Budget by warning against another big fiscal stimulus. Yet the chatter on the Whitehall grapevine yesterday was that Mr King had strengthened Mr Darling's hand in his arm wrestling with Mr Brown over the scale of any spending boost in the Budget."
I told you not to leave the UK when there was a possibility of a coup. Get back to the UK ASAP, power is draining away from the compulsive meddler.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 83)
Comment number 84.
At 07:46 26th Mar 2009, sicilian29 wrote:72. At 00:12am on 26 Mar 2009, sagamix wrote:
dhw @ 65
Who's Dennis Hannon?
oh come on, where have you been? - the Winston Churchill de nos jours, that's who
and it's Derek
In actual fact it's Daniel you muppet!
Complain about this comment (Comment number 84)
Comment number 85.
At 07:53 26th Mar 2009, andrewbucephalus wrote:I posted the Youtube link of Daniel Hannan demolition of Brron on Andrew Neil's BBC blog. If it doesn't appear here it proved Nick Robinson's pro-government bias. This is priceless and has attracted over 630,00 views so far: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94lW6Y4tBXs
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Comment number 86.
At 08:02 26th Mar 2009, sicilian29 wrote:84:
I can understand the error. I once called a boy in my class Wayne Mansfield (remember Jayne) when his actual name was Wayne Manning.
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Comment number 87.
At 08:04 26th Mar 2009, CarrotsneedaQUANGO2 wrote:The prime minister chose his words very carefully!
No! he chose not to answer the question, just as Harman did at PMQs yesterday
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Comment number 88.
At 08:06 26th Mar 2009, T A Griffin (TAG) wrote:Nick,
I was listening to the Today programme this morning and listened to the interview with Lord Guthrie. Apparently a letter has been written to the Times and signed by some very distinguished people requesting an inquiry into allegations of torture.
May I humbly point out that I put in a petition last week demanding an 'urgent' inquiry into allegations of torture. This has been signed by 7 individuals up to this morning. It would appear that some petitions do have an effect even though the number of signatories may be small, they are very influential. The petition can be found on the Number 10 petitions.
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Comment number 89.
At 08:09 26th Mar 2009, The_Guvnor wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 89)
Comment number 90.
At 08:19 26th Mar 2009, sagablonde wrote:"It is mirrored here in warnings from Republicans that President Obama risks burdening this country with debts worthy of a third world country".
The West usually bails out debt ridden 3rd world countries, so if the most wealthiest country in the world is debt burdened , who will the 3rd world countries turn to?
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Comment number 91.
At 08:20 26th Mar 2009, extremesense wrote:#85 andrewbucephalus
Oh come, you can't really think that people take Daniel Hannan's rant seriously do you?
I can't wait to see the back of Brown but watching a clip of someone only just slightly to the left of Nick Griffin gobbing-off in the European parliament is just silly, very silly and de-values this blog.
Can't we talk about something serious, there's plenty to choose from:
- Illegal Iraq war
- Afghanistan 'peacekeeping'
- Sexed-up dossier and fixing WMDs
- Dr Kelly's'suicide'
- Blair's taste for war
- Replacing Trident
- Bush and Obama's poodle
- Blocking EU treaty referendum
- Arms sales to Saudi terrorists
- Pandering to the Saudis
- BAE inquiry blocked by cronies
- Allowing Murdoch to influence policy
- Decimating UK manufacturing
- Borrowing Brown's boom & bust
- Brown's smoke & mirrors accounting
- Selling off gold reserves
- Creating debt culture
- Raids on pension funds
- PFI and PPI taxpayer rip off
- New Deal jobs sham
- Increasing gap between rich & poor
- Toadying to vested corporate greed
- A home office 'not fit for purpose'
- A tick-box PC culture
- Binge drinking, licensing laws
- 'Respect' agenda, knives and gangs
- Big Brother surveillance
- ID cards & attacks on civil liberties
- Fiddling crime stats
- Unchecked immigration
- Blunkett's fall from grace
- Stuffing quangos with lackeys
- Rise of consultants and wonks
- Mandelson's rise & fall & rise
- Campbell & the spin doctors
- Erminegate Sleaze
- New Labour croneyism
- Ex-ministers pimping for lobby firms
- Levy pimping peerages to slushfund
- Eco-town con
- Ripping-off the public to pay for Olympics
- £12.7bn NHS computer waste
- Privatisation and NHS cuts
- Squandering taxpayer's billions
- Academies & dumbed down exams
- Scrapping trade union's Clause 4
- Greengate scandal
- Bernie Ecclestone scandal
- Encouraging gullible to gamble
- Prescott and the super casino
- Dome fiasco
- False 'Britishness'
- Killing off pubs and Post Offices
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Comment number 92.
At 08:26 26th Mar 2009, extremesense wrote:#84 sicilian29
Yes, quite right, the sooner people get his name right, the sooner they watch his unopposed diatribe and the sooner we can get back to discussing serious matters.
I've tried to follow Europolitics with all it's funny little idiosyncratic extremes and don't find it very interesting at all. I'd prefer to go and sit in my local council chamber!
Where is Brown these days? I got bored of following yet another world tour.
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Comment number 93.
At 08:28 26th Mar 2009, the-real-truth wrote:Nick
No one can forget that 'the powers that be' including your good self, hid the emotional problems of a party leader from the public.
No real justification was offered, it was simply a conspiracy by the political class and the media against the public. And maybe out of sympathy to the individuals involved the culpability of the media in hiding the truth was not really examined.
In that case it was the emotional problems of 'Charles Kennedy'.
Can you assure your readers here that nothing similar (or even dissimilar) is being hidden from us?
Many headlines seem oddly worded, like cross word clues, regarding the PM.
History has changed - particularly with blogs - things will no longer be forgotten or let slip through the cracks. The public now have a fantastic research resource and they will use it.
If you let us down, you will not be forgiven - the 'Charles Kennedy' episode will be noted as the last time the media were forgiven for failing in their duty to the public.
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Comment number 94.
At 08:33 26th Mar 2009, Mister_E_Man wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 95.
At 08:38 26th Mar 2009, Rogreg84 wrote:I watched MR Hannans Speech yesterday, and he basically said everything that has been said before about Brown but in an official forum. Now I agree that it would have been nice to see a reply from Mr Brown, however understandly in in the interests of not wasting time its a good job he didnt reply, because he would just infuriate people more by not answering and talking complete rubbish again.
I do have a question for those that say it doesnt stand up to analysis to clarify there views of his speech, i only ask because when you grow a dislike for someone all analysis of a his views tend to be biased to some degree. So I would be really interested in an analysis of why the speech wasnt any good, so i can try to formulate a less biased view.
Its very hard to look at someone in a good light when they have demolished all you hard work, so a little help instead of insult and argument, (call it debate) would be appreciated.
Ta
Rog
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Comment number 96.
At 08:41 26th Mar 2009, shellingout wrote:Nick.
No mention of Mr Hannah's speech. Dissappointing, but hardly surprising. We don't want the minions back home knowing that our "wonderfully popular" Prime Minister has been embarrassed in front of other European Leaders now, do we.
Despite Gordon's comments to the contrary, we all know that Mervyn King is dead against borrowing more money to prop up the finance sector. He has already said the country cannot afford another financial stimulus package. Which part of that statement does Gordon not understand?
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Comment number 97.
At 08:42 26th Mar 2009, Crowded Island wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 98.
At 08:43 26th Mar 2009, skynine wrote:The Daniel Hannan "phenomena" is not so much what he says but that there are thousands of people who are looking for someone to articulate their anxiety in the irrational way Gordon Brown has been acting.
His actions while Chancellor in excluding the PM of the time from contents of the Budgets and his current "grandstanding" pushing the current chancellor into the background shows a person who is very controlling and unable to listen to others. I don't suppose for one minute that Mr King's comments in a public forum would have happened if Mr Brown had listened to him in private.
The man is a dangerous menace precisely because of his inability to listen and his cast iron belief that he is always right and everyone else is wrong.
Someone has to reign him in, he has to go in the best interests of the United Kingdom.
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Comment number 99.
At 08:47 26th Mar 2009, Mister_E_Man wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 100.
At 08:49 26th Mar 2009, andrewbucephalus wrote:Where is my comment? Not even showing in the moderation queue.
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