Reshuffle reactions
Opposition politicians, ministers and a certain Gordon Brown give politics.co.uk their comments on the reshuffle.
By Alex Stevenson
It was the climax of an astonishing week in Westminster. The morning after the night before, when work and pensions secretary James Purnell had abandoned the prime minister and called for him to go, Brown’s fate was in the hands of his ministers.
Downing Street responded with Brown’s last card, a desperate attempt to survive the day. But things did not look good for the PM. Local election results slowly emerged; Labour lost all four of the county councils it held. The party’s vote share hit new lows. And all the while backbenchers continued their cyberspace plot to bring down their leader.
Unsurprisingly, shadow defence secretary Liam Fox was keen to open up this wider perspective as Brown began the reshuffle.
“It’s against a backdrop of a dysfunctional prime minister reorganising a dysfunctional Cabinet,” he said.
Liam Fox gives Labour MPs some job advice
The Liberal Democrats, too, were enjoying the torment of the governing party. Sarah Teather, who is thought to be the only sitting MP taking on another sitting MP at the next general election because of boundary changes to Brent, London, was in upbeat mood.
“I suspect most of them would rather he wasn’t their leader but they’re not really quite sure what to do next,” she mused.
Sarah Teather describes Labour MPs’ “paralysed” state
One Labour backbencher who had some perspective of his own to offer was Denis MacShane, the former Europe minister. His assessment of the three “crises” afflicting British politics presented Brown as being at the centre of a “vortex” of political storms.
It was the best argument on offer from the pro-Brown point of view all day. Give the PM a little bit longer was the suggestion. “I just think we should all gently calm down.”
Denis MacShane tells Labour MPs more “solidarity” is needed
Another Labour figure who’s loomed large over recent years is Ken Livingstone, the former mayor of London. politics.co.uk caught him as he scurried from one media interview to another. He said he didn’t have the “slightest doubt, despite all my disagreements with him over the years”, that Brown had the right policies on the economy.
Ken Livingstone admits “of course it’s a bad day for Labour”
Their worried, anxious replies were markedly different from those who remain in Gordon Brown’s Cabinet. Environment secretary Hilary Benn stayed in his post and, like David Miliband and others, didn’t hesitate to plunge the knife into Purnell.
“I disagree with James. I’ve worked with him a long time, but I think he’s just made the wrong decision,” he said.
“We’ve had better weeks, let’s be honest – but that’s the time you get behind the person you’ve elected to lead you. That’s the time you give them support – it’s not the time to run away.”
A questioning Hilary Benn gives his approval to Gordon Brown’s reshuffle
Not all were in such overbearingly positive mood. Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, who from yesterday also took over Liam Byrne’s duties as Cabinet Office minister, was in conciliatory mode as she acknowledged the problems the new Cabinet faced.
“We’re going to have to talk to backbenchers, understand what it is they’re worried about. they want to know what this reshuffle is going to do to their marginal seat, and we’ve got to explain that to them.”
Tessa Jowell on “the beginning of the fightback”
When the reshuffle was finally complete Brown held a press conference in Downing Street to explain himself to the country. He would not “waver”, he said, as he pledged to be “candid” and denied having U-turned on Alistair Darling’s No 11 tenure.
But it was clear to all present that he was emerging with his power considerably weakened. The news that Caroline Flint had finally quit the government, launching her “female window-dressing attack”, was horrendous news.
Reshuffles, politics.co.uk told Brown, are supposed to be sweeping examples of prime ministerial power and authority. Did he think it had been a good day for his premiership?
“I think you’ve got to look at the focus of this government,” he said.
“Look, what the public’s not really as interested in as you may think is this personality or that. They want to know what are the policies? What are you going to do?”
A monster list followed as he completely evaded the question. The idea that the public is not interested in the personality in No 10 is preposterous, after all. But he pressed on nonetheless, the clunking karate chop thumping on the lectern as he did so.
“These are the issues that people ask about and we are totally focused on these issues,” he finished.
“Clean up politics, improve the economy and get out of this recession. And at the same time tailor public services to people’s needs for the future so Britain can build better for the future.”
The prime minister will be hoping his new Cabinet will do just that as they begin work on Monday. Having secured their support to survive the end of the week, another one is just around the corner. The expected disastrous European election results, due on Sunday evening, will influence backbenchers as they decide which voices to listen to above all others.
