Gordon and the garden gnomes!

Gordon Brown's not exactly like a cat with nine lives. He's more like a bear that's run into the last chance saloon after being shot at by blue-rinsed hunters and chased by his own kind. He's a sorry picture indeed, as the bartender tries to calm him down. He's not quite Yogi, he's not really Pooh, and he doesn't normally go to Paddington station. However, he does seem lost. He's definitely a bear with a sore head, but has the bartender got the cure for him?

John Major famously strode into the garden of No 10 and announced that he intended to have a "put-up-or-shut-up" leadership election. What followed was a bit of a damp squib. Gordon Brown only has a wet and windy garden to look at today. Hidden in the flower beds are some uppity gnomes, all ready to spout contradictory ditties. Some think he's great. One or two want him gone. Another thinks he's "absolutely convinced" that Brown is the "best person" to be Prime Minister. The last straw probably!

The truth is that Gordon Brown miscalculated his time as PM. He was outclassed and outrun by the crafty Blair. The Granita deal was his downfall. He was OK as Chancellor, but Blair was the "Leader of New Labour" and this has meant Brown's place was always to be second. History has shown that British prime ministers that "take over", rather than get "elected", always hit the buffers. The reason is clear. The precedessor has flogged the train so that the new driver gets little or no head of steam. What happened for Macmillan/Home and Wilson/Callaghan will happen for Blair/Brown. The same could be said of Thatcher/Major. Although John Major won the 1992 election, it was not really a vote of confidence for him. It was a rejection of Neil Kinnock. John Major's exit from Downing Street was postponed for five years, but thankfully that meant no Kinnock premiership.

Gordon Brown may have time to quieten the gnomes or they may just be able to topple him. My guess is that he is stuck with Harold Macmillan's truism. "Events, dear boy, events". Those events look like leading him the Callaghan way, with Cameron taking over. The only difference was in 1979 there was clear blue water between the Tories and Labour. The people knew who was what. Now it's all a blur. If Cameron doesn't quite make it on his own, he'll have to cosy up to Nick Clegg. A coalition would at least be better than a continuation of this New Labour charade!

Posted in: David Cameron,Gordon Brown,New Labour,Nick Clegg