We now have evidence of the incredible power of my fingertips - hours after I reported that Gordon Brown had bottled out of campaigning in Glenrothes the plans were changed. No longer would he swan around his own constituency and hope that reports of his munificence would seep over the border into Glenrothes, instead he'd have to get down and dirty with the electors in Glenrothes - all handpicked six of them.
Yes, I outed him and forced him into a rethink - what power there is in these fingertips.
Time to give him another hard time then - six handpicked people? Three couples in an arranged meeting in a cafe in an industrial estate? With his reputation? Were they all Labour party members?
Brown has recently been getting a good press here for the action taken on banks which were in trouble. Leaving aside the fact that it was Brown's changes to financial regulation which created much of the problem, why does the rest of Europe refer to it as the Sarkozy plan? Surely Sarkozy himself based it on the Nordic response to the banking problems of the early 1990s?
Just in case anybody starts getting complacent, though, Japan's problems at the same time and the inadequacy of the Japanese response (although similar) should provide a salutary warning. Equally important is to note those things that the Swedes did that haven't been done here - things like a 100% guarantee of deposits - secured first against shareholder capital before public money came in - prudent protection of public funds. Whatever happened to dear Prudence?
Anyway, I thought that I might have been a wee bit harsh on el Gordo recently so I decided to let him put his side of the story on HBoS. I've written to him to ask three wee questions:
1. Why did he choose Lloyds TSB to take over HBoS
2. When did he decide that Llyods TSB should take over HBoS?
3. Since Lloyds TSB appears to be in no better state than HBoS in the current mess and is smaller than HBoS does it still make sense for the deal to proceed?
3. Since Lloyds TSB appears to be in no better state than HBoS in the current mess and is smaller than HBoS does it still make sense for the deal to proceed?
I fully expect an answer on the 7th of November. I've also submitted FOI requests for his diary (as Chancellor and as Prime Minister) for meetings he's had with Victor Blank - it'll be the end of November before they come back.
This news just in - opinion poll in today's Sunday Times shows support for the SNP up by 11% since the last Westminster election while Labour is down two points on the same period. The paper has a very strange headline on this piece of excellent news though.
Lab: 38%
SNP: 29%
Con: 20%
Lib D: 11%
Absolute Lib Dem collapse there - in common with other polls. SNP to win even more seats.
Glenrothes margin of victory to be 3,487 approximately - but only if every nationalist gets out there and does her or his best to win it. Broon disnae boonce!
4 comments:
Maybe they've read your other stories on polls showing the SNP in the high-30s for voter support?
I think he had to go after the farce in Cardenden. Would you ever just visit people with SNP posters up?
Labour are now attempting to present themselves as the underdog in this contest and GB has broken his self imposed convention of not attending by elections. But why? The probable answer is that their internal polling now shows them holding the seat (though by what margin?) and they're laying the groundwork to 'big it up' when the result finally comes in. Otherwise they wouldn't have GB within a country mile of this contest. I hope the SNP have a strategy for losing.
We're winning.
We have to work hard to stay ahead but we're winning and shall win.
And nationalists in Scotland then a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not there,
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