Mandelson's Mission Impossible
Hat tip to the bloggers at Political Betting for drawing my attention to this item on the Economist website referring to an interview by the magazine's "Bagehot" political editor with Lord Mandelson.
It refers to the U-turn which Mandelson has engineered, dropping Brown's ridiculous "Labour investment versus Tory Cuts" line which was an insult to the intelligence of the electorate. The article concludes
"Lord Mandelson was typically robust — but the truth is, this time, he and the rest of Mr Brown's team are on an almost impossible mission.
It would have been mad for Mr Brown to try to stick to his "investment versus cuts" line until the election.
Revising it is almost certainly the least bad option available to him. But it is still a humiliating reversal that no amount of Mandelsonian finessing can disguise."
It refers to the U-turn which Mandelson has engineered, dropping Brown's ridiculous "Labour investment versus Tory Cuts" line which was an insult to the intelligence of the electorate. The article concludes
"Lord Mandelson was typically robust — but the truth is, this time, he and the rest of Mr Brown's team are on an almost impossible mission.
It would have been mad for Mr Brown to try to stick to his "investment versus cuts" line until the election.
Revising it is almost certainly the least bad option available to him. But it is still a humiliating reversal that no amount of Mandelsonian finessing can disguise."
Comments
I personally don't like comment moderation and would prefer not to turn it on, but I will do so if that is the only way to keep this blog suitable for a family readership.
The leaked document that showed Mr Cameron was close to predicting the need for 10% cuts, at least gets it out in the open. It is therapeutic to know that one can now officially use the dreaded 'Big C' word! Now everyone can talk about cuts and Labour can steal Conservative ideas and claim them for their own. Labour will not of course have to claim responsibility for following them through to completion or putting in the finer details.
It is interesting that Copeland Council are now considering shared officers and services with Carlisle and Allerdale, with regard to revenues and benefits. Has financial necessity required a reconsideration of this policy? Conservative Councils in other parts of the Country have been practising and promoting this policy for some time. In the past the Labour Groups on Allerdale and Carlisle objected to this policy. It appears there is likely to be a u-turn with regard to benefits and revenues.
Oh how the worm turns!