Labour win 'impossible'
Eric Pickles
Wednesday, 20, Aug 2008 12:00
It is now impossible for Labour to win the next general election, although the Tories might still lose it, according to a senior Conservative frontbencher.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Eric Pickles, shadow communities secretary, said Labour had entered a similar period to the one the Tories had just gone through.
"We've been there before [and] seen false dawns. The light at the end of the tunnel for the Tory party in the last 15 years has been an express train coming in the opposite direction," he said.
Comparing Gordon Brown's leadership to a Shakespearian tragedy, Mr Pickles said Labour would not be able to drag themselves out of electoral meltdown through a leadership challenge.
"I'm not saying they're entirely there but they are beginning to sink without a sign of the bottom," he continued.
"They're spending so much time now trying to grab ideas, steal ideas and... none of it's going to make any difference."