No confidence

[4GS]

Since Brown took over the office of Prime Minister from Bliar we have had: Terrorist attacks Foot + mouth outbreaks Shameless stealing of Conservative + Liberal party ideas Northern Rock fiasco Child benefit fiasco Party funding scandal Labour trailing the Conservatives in the polls How long until there is a vote of 'No Confidence' in the P.M?

[New Judge]

And what, if it should come about, do you think the result will be?

(Clue: Current state of the Commons - Labour 352 seats, the rest 294).

[whiffey]

Could we have another clue please ?

[4GS]

Depends whether the vote is:
no conidence in the government
or
no confidence in the P.M

as your figures show, the Govt has an overwhelming majority so if the former was voted on, then we would keep the same regime,
however if the vote was whether there is confidence in the P.M then that would be interesting

[naomi24]

Not very long, in my opinion 4GS - and the quicker the better. This man is not fit for office - amd never was.

[Gromit]

Labour have a majority of 62 seats in the Commons. It is only the Commons which can take a vote of No Confidence in Brown. It is unlikely there will be such a vote, as Brown would undoubtedly win it. It is a couple of years before the country gets to decide on Brown's performance. A lot can happen in two years, don't write him off yet.

Under Blair we had, 7/7, F&M, Cash for Honours. Sound familiar, and yet Blair left because of non of those, his demise was due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[Gromit]

Brown had the backing of 308 fellow-MPs to become Prime Minister.

I don't think you will get 308 politicians admitting they made a mistake, so quickly.

[cambus]

Brown is also responsible for a lot more whingers on here as well!

[naomi24]

You have a point, Gromit, but I do hope you're wrong. :o(

[jake-the-peg]

Not exactly sure how you're laying some of this at Brown's door!

I can imagine what you'd be saying if they'd stood by and let a run on Northern Rock result in thousands losing their life savings.

Which terrorist attacks are you holding him accountable for?

Foot and mouth outbreaks have been contained in a way that could scarcely be dreamed of 6 years ago.

Surely you're not trying hard enough isn't the disapearance of little girls in portugal his fault too?

What about England's failure to qualify for the football?

Too many people are unhappy with their lives and find it easier to blame the government than face up to the fact that we're each responsible for our own sucesses and failures

[MrsT]

Leave the poor chap alone, bless, he's just called me up for another 1 on 1 so I'll be running the government, puppet style from now on! Things can only get better!

[Gromit]

jake-the-peg

Ouch!

[Kromovaracun]

Brown's certainly had poor fortune in his tenure thus far, and there have been some instances in which his response hasn't reflected well on the government. But you can't really blame him for some of the stuff that's happened.

Terrorist attacks - Brown didn't respond especially badly to this. He didn't respond exceptionally well either, but there was nothing wrong with his response.

Foot and Mouth - Brown's government responded far quicker and far more effectively to this than Blair's did six years ago. He responded just about as well as he could have.

Tory idea-stealing - This did reflect quite badly on Brown and I think is a legitimate point for criticising him. He's far from being the first though.

Northern Rock - NR went into crisis because it was not being run that well - nothing to do with Brown. The Government's intervention sustained it long enough to secure a buyer (and quite a good one in Branson), and also managed to protect thousands of jobs and hundreds of thousands of people who have mortgages etc. with the bank. You could argue the risk shouldn't have been taken, but the Gov'ts response has been far from incompetent

Party funding - Again, this is quite disgraceful. But Brown has been roundly condemning of it and has eagerly invited the Electoral Commission (and established two other enquiries) to scrutinise this. It shouldn't have happened in the first place, but it's pretty hard to blame this on Brown personally.

[Kromovaracun]

So, Brown's certainly not been fantastic, but it's a bit unfair to bemoan him as totally incompetent. He's not in anything like as bad a situation as previous P.M.'s have been - with Major, Heath and Eden instantly springing to mind.

[clairey-s]

Heard of a comma? =)

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

x

[Kromovaracun]

Commas are for whimps. You should read as fast as I type.

xP

[clairey-s]

You should read as accurately as I type, and I was typing to 4GS =)

[Kromovaracun]

D'oh!

I'll just slink out the door...

[clairey-s]

Muhahahaha x

[naomi24]

Jake, I don�t see anyone here blaming their own successes or failures on the government, and Gromit, I don�t understand why your response to Jake�s comment is �Ouch�. I didn�t find it painful. It seems to me that although absolute euphoria greeted Labour�s initial success back in the 90s � and I was amongst those cheering - the country has slid progressively downhill ever since, and there is no one to lead it out of the mire � least of all Gordon Brown, since not only is he one of the main architects of this country�s decline, he is not a natural statesman and he is not a natural leader. The recent ills cannot be blamed on him personally, but I feel that each time he speaks in a moment of crisis he stumbles and flounders helplessly, and he is quite clearly out of his league. As the control freak we hear he is, he may demand respect from his minions, but he is certainly not a man who commands respect, and I really don�t think it will be long before they, and the country, turn against him.

Well, it�s not all bad news - at least he�s stopped grinning that sickly fake grin he had permanently plastered over his face when he was trying to convince everyone he was the right man for the job.

[MrsT]

Fear not naomi, I'm comming back to save the nation once again. Labour isn't working!