And he begins his tenure with an unfussy speech outside the door of No.10. All of the main Tory touchstones were mentioned: the deficit, responsibility, political reform and social breakdown. But this wasn’t a strident or triumphant performance. Cameron went out of his way to pay tribute to Gordon Brown and his “long record of
That No.10 lectern has had a lot of use over the past two days. Yesterday, it was wheeled out for Brown’s resignation announcement; today, for his resignation proper. It was quite dignified, as it happened. He said that he he loved the job for its “potential to make this country fairer, more tolerant, more green,
Westminster is working itself into a frenzy as we wait for the official announcements, statements and rituals of state which will surely come in the next few hours. The very latest is that Cabinet ministers are saying Brown will go either tonight or tomorrow morning; Vince Cable has suggested a Lib-Con deal is “very
More here. UPDATE: The Standard reports that Brown is set to quit as Prime Minister tonight.
As James suggested, the mood is shifting against a Lib-Lab coalition this afternoon. And now the idea has been dealt its biggest blow so far: Andy Burnham has spoken out against it public. Taking the kind of deliberate step that suggests he may be up for the Labour leadership after all, the Health Secretary said:
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves: some sort of deal between the Lib Dems and the Tories is still a distinct possibility, even if negotiations have been rocked by the events of yesterday. But whether it goes through or not, Clegg has seriously dented his credibility in Tory circles. Backbenchers who were warming to the
Today’s papers have the lowdown on the events of the past few days, and one thing is becoming increasingly clear: a Lib-Con deal faces not just the opposition of the Lib Dem base, but also some of the party’s most influential figures. In a Times account of a Lib Dem meeting yesterday, it’s revealed that
One striking aspect to this evening’s brouhaha is how senior Labour figures are going out of their way not to endorse anyone as Gordon Brown’s successor. Brown himself has said that he won’t back an “individual candidate,” and Peter Mandelson and Alastair Campbell have made similar noises in television interviews. There are, I imagine, two
And so it begins. With Brown’s statment earlier, the Labour leadership contenders are already creeping out of of the Downing Street woodwork. Paul Waugh tweets that David Miliband will announce his candidacy tonight. The News of the World reports that Ed Balls has his campaign primed and ready to detonate. And I’d be very surprised
And here’s a transcript of the statement “We have a parliamentary and not presidential system in this country and as I said on Friday, with no party able to command a parliamentary majority arising from the general election, my constitutional duty as prime minister is to ensure that government continues while parties explore options for
You’re witnessing history, CoffeeHousers: Gordon Brown has just announced his departure from frontline politics. In a statement outside Downing St, he confirmed that he would be stepping down as Labour leader by September – triggering a leadership contest in the process. It’s clear that he’s using himself as a bargaining chip, making a Lib-Lab deal
Weirdness reigns in Westminster at the moment, as the entire political establishment sits drooling and waiting for insights into the Lib-Con talks. The latest negotiator to break cover was the Lib Dem’s David Laws who managed, very artfully, to give very little away. And so we were told that the Lib Dems are speaking with
Isn’t it all very cosy? Turns out the Lib Dem negotiating team secretly met with a Labour delegation over the weekend: Ed Balls, Peter Mandelson, Ed Miliband and Andrew Adonis. And it’s thought that Nick Clegg has had more conversations with Gordon Brown, both on the phone and in person. So the Tories aren’t the
Aside from a few quips about Walls sausages and Meccano, Boris has kept his views relatively private since the events of last Thursday. But you can always count on the Mayor of London to open up for his Daily Telegraph column, and, today, he does exactly that. Here’s his take on a Lib-Con coaltion –
Ooh, a touch of drama just now, as Nick Clegg addressed the 1,000 or so protestors calling for voting reform in Smith Square. He said that the demonstration was “wonderful,” and got big cheers for saying that PR is “in the national interest”. But there were no hints, either way, about how the Lib-Con talks
For all the feverish political activity in Westiminster today – and beyond the occasional voting reform protest – there’s a strange, impermeable calm to the situation. Everything is going on behind closed doors, and everyone is remaining relatively tight-lipped. Signs are, we may have to wait a couple of days before any light breaks through
Woah, I didn’t think Cameron would go that far. In his statement just now, the Tory leader started off by talking about minority government, as one might expect. But he soon skipped past that, and onto what sounded like a more formal coalition with the Lib Dems. He called it the Tories’ “Big Comprehensive Offer”.
Gordon Brown’s statement outside Number 10 just now was a strange mix of statesmanship and salesmanship. He began by trying to sound as reasonable as possible: claiming that he “understands” why Nick Clegg would like to meet with David Cameron first, and adding that he would happliy wait for them to finish their negotiations. He