James Forsyth

The latest PR Week scoop about what is going on in Downing Street has revived my suspicions about who is doing the leaking. The story says that Gordon Brown is obsessed with Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor who is now the Tory’s chief spinner, and blames him for his current troubles. Now, the first person to come out of this story looking bad is the Prime Minister; it seems rather unseemly—and a little bit pathetic—for Brown to be spending his time worrying about the opposition’s spin doctor. But equally, it reflects badly on Stephen Carter and the people that he has hired as they were meant to do for Brown what Coulson had done for Cameron.

As ever, Martin Bright’s column in the New Statesman is well worth reading. Here’s the key paragraph: “Brown and his poll-obsessed allies may find some comfort in the latest figures, but there is rebellion in the air. It is important to remember that he does not have the authority of an electoral mandate to face down backbenchers who defy him. His authority is based largely on economic competence and a reputation for knowing how to win elections, and on both counts it has been seeping away.”I’d also add that Brown and his allies have no moral authority when they demand that the party rallies behind its leader. Add all this together and things could get very interesting if Labour loses London and does badly on May 1st.

Jonathan Powell’s essay on the Northern Ireland peace process in the May Prospect sets out his position on talking to terrorists with complete clarity: “To argue that al Qaeda and the Taleban are different and that therefore you can’t talk to them is nonsense. Of course they are different, but terrorists are terrorists. What they do is evil, regardless of the cause. But you need to find a way to deal with them.”  To be fair to Powell, he prefaces this by saying that you should not concede to terrorists’ demands in response to violence or the threat of violence.

I must admit to mixed feelings at the news that Number Ten will fly the flag of St George tomorrow. On the one hand, it’ll be an impressive sight and compared to the dog’s dinner of devolution is hardly likely to tear at the constitutional fabric. On the other, Downing Street is the home of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and so the only flag that should fly over it is the Union flag.

Rosa Prince, who is owning this whole (non) endorsement story, has spoken to Kate Hoey about what happened and it seems she genuinely is sick. But the rest of Hoey’s explanation is hard to credit: "Boris told me last week he was visiting the ballet school - it's a great project so I said I would try to go along, like I would for any politician who wished to see a project in my constituency. "It never occurred to me people would consider it an endorsement. "It really p***es me off that I am being asked if I am staying on as a Labour MP - it's stupid, stupid, stupid." Now, come on Kate!

“When Gordon Brown used to hold meetings at the Treasury, coffee would be served with the milk already added. I always thought that summed up his style. Such was his eagerness to get on to business that he had no time for the 20 seconds it would take to pass round the jug and the biscuits, a ritual that broke the ice across the rest of Whitehall.” This is how Tom Clark, a former special adviser who is now a leader writer at The Guardian, starts his superb piece on Gordon Brown. The whole thing is well worth reading—it is not a screed but a measured appraisal of Brown’s strengths and weaknesses.

It wasn’t just the presidential candidates and the president that Gordon Brown met on the DC leg of his trip. Here, via Playbook, are the other folk that he saw: “British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met at the British Ambassador's residence in Washington yesterday with a collection of government, media and advocacy luminaries including David Lane, president and CEO of Bono's ONE Campaign; Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.); Ambassador Mark R. Dybul, the United States Global AIDS Coordinator; Stephen Colecchi of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; economist Gene Sperling; Dina Habib Powell, Director of Global Corporate Engagement at Goldman Sachs; and Microsoft Managing Director of Federal Government Affairs Jack Krumholtz.