Tories attack Brown: this time, they're wrong

Iain Dale draws attention to a Tory press release attacking Gordon Brown. Apparently Mr Brown appointed Labour MP Colin Challen to a climate change panel in order to encourage him to stand aside as an MP.

Why? Because by doing so he frees up his seat for the Chancellor's close colleague Ed Balls.

The Tories say they are furious, talking of "blatant cronyism". Iain files his post under the label Sleaze.

I must say I am baffled by this response.

The moment Challen announced he was standing down it was obvious he'd been offered something, and membership of a climate change panel is hardly a huge inducement. 

This is just politics and there's nothing wrong with it at all. It's ridiculous for Tories to pretend that they wouldn't do such things in office.

Comments

[Iain Dale]

Your response illistrates why people have such a low regard for politicians. If this is considered the "norm" then it is going to take a new generation to clean up the system. The fact that all parties have been known to do such things does not make it right.

[Guido Fawkes]

"This is just politics and there's nothing wrong with it at all. It's ridiculous for Tories to pretend that they wouldn't do such things in office."

Isn't that the problem and the reason people are so fed up with the political class? Business as usual is sleazy.

P.S. Has a memo or something gone round the office since the boss had lunch with Gordon last week?

[Ephi Levyn]

This lunch Gordon had with the boss - it would not have been at Granita's, by any chance?

'Not long now, Gordon. Look, here's the keys to Number 10. Feast your eye. Now you see them. Now you don't. Now you see them...'

[jailhouselawyer]

Form a circle. Colin Challen gets a Brown nose when Ed Balls up his seat. As long as everybody practices safe sex...

[leon]

"It's ridiculous for Tories to pretend that they wouldn't do such things in office."

Time will tell.

That said i'm sure all those Labour/non Tory bloggers (that have had to suffer the New Tory Sanctimonious Brigade) will have had their knives sufficiently sharpened by then too....

[Unity]

>>> Business as usual is sleazy.

Paul:

And is that more or less sleazy than, say, putting out a podcast containing a string of 'paedo' gags directed at Mark Oaten?

Or, say, setting up an internet 'TV station' to circumvent UK regulations on political broadcasting and advertising in order to run US-style 'attack ads'?

Just a question?

Just thought I'd ask...

[James]

If you don't think this is a "massive inducement" then you've never met Colin Challen...

To him membership of a climate change panel is even more desirable than, well, a lordship for certain Labour donors.

[ted harvey]

"I must say I am baffled by this response."
and
"This is just politics and there's nothing wrong with it at all."

Thanks for the frankness, but for those of us who exist outside the Metro London political goldfish bowl, this just sums up in breathtaking brevity and crudity how ammoral, uncomprehending and detached from reality so many of the inhabitants of that goldfish have become.

I'm trying hard not to use words like 'debased' and 'immoral' because that would just have me discounted as a whinging, naive type wouldn't it?

But didn't a little guy called Adolf once get a whopping democratic mandate from the voters for a manifesto largely based on a promise to clear out the degenerates and the corrupt? It was all lies and propaganda - but it was a winning promise for an electorate sickened and weary by the cynicism and debasement of their 'democratic' politicians.

[Daniel Finkelstein]

Ted I believe passionately in probity in public life but you will mreally have to better than comparing the appointment of a backbench MP to a commission on climate change with Hitler.

And as for the suggestion that it would be wrong to appoint Challen to the Lords, I think that would be an entirely different matter, but it is not what has happened

[Tim Ireland]

I think people have a low regard for politicians because most of them are liars. Iain.

[ted harvey]

Nice foil there Daniel, but you appreciate perfectly well that I am not making the comparison you suggest. You cited an episode as really 'no problem'. I'm saying it's part of a pretty awful whole.

I'm sure you have heard and watched riveting testimonials from intelligent people who lived through evil epochs and would say something like 'but I just did not understand at the time that that little thing indicated so much'.

[tyger]

"... it is going to take a new generation to clean up the system. ~ Iain Dale"

Not Maggie-obsessed, sad old Tories then?

[Paul Allkins]

I suppose the fact that these are posts paid for by us the long suffering public is by the by in all of this. A minor post on a minor committee to ease GBs favorites back into (democratic???) politics is the thin edge of the wedge.Next time it ll be a bigger post on a bigger committee etc etc.
Of course ever since the boss had his lunch with Gordon the word has gone out to cut him some slack I guess. Not sure I read the very favorable poll data on GB anywhere else except in the Times.
The least we can expect is some subtlety guys eh?