Comments on: Rat leaves sinking ship

By: Shuggy

Shuggy — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 17:42:41 +0000

But he is a Blair loyalist who has just resigned over what looks suspiciously like a point of principle. Heh - but don't expect the Blairistas to entertain such a thought even for a moment. For them loyalty to the Supreme Leader is the basis of their political morality. Disloyalty to Blair is akin to apostacy for them.

By: Jonn

Jonn — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 14:10:54 +0000

The Straw-as-Howe ones. A few different places have discussed the speculation that one of the big hitters is going to follow Watson and co. Sunny made a plausible argument on Comment is Free that Straw's the man to do it. I've heard whispers from friends in Westminster that he's not a happy man. And... well, you don't have to look far to see that I'm not the only one to have heard that.

By: Planeshift

Planeshift — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 13:46:41 +0000

which particular rumours about straw do you mean?

By: Abdul-Rahim

Abdul-Rahim — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 15:55:10 +0000

True that. You mention that he does have himself in interest but it’s still a noble thing to declare that your allegiance to a people, an idea, a nation, is greater than your allegiance to a powerful leader.

By: Jonn

Jonn — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 09:10:06 +0000

You can kind of see how it happens. Noone likes leaving something they see as their project in the hands of others – that sense can only be increased when you’re running a country and the ‘others’ in question are your arch rival and his cohorts.

I don’t think it’s that, as some have been saying, Blair is so messianic that he doesn’t think the country can go on without him, Thatcher style. But I do think he doesn’t think the Labour party can – he’s the man who saved those ungrateful wretches from political obscurity, dammit, can’t they see they’ll be straight back there without him?

Well, I guess if the rumours about Straw turn out to be true then we’ll find out whether he’s right.

I still respect Watson for what he did. His blog may have been shite of late, but I don’t really think you can blame him for that: I don’t think you have to be a government minister to think it’s best to keep some of the stuff you learn in your day job off the internet. Glad he’s back, though.

By: Sunny

Sunny — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 02:22:57 +0000

Tom’s already posted the letter and the reply on his blog. Heh… the man is pissed with Blair.

It seems to me that the longer a PM or a President is in power, the more tendency they have to be completely out of touch and be surrounded by people who do not reflect what is reality.

Though, saying that, this problem seems to have afflicted GW Bush from day one.

I agree however at the broad thrust of the article. There is only a niggly feeling that he knew all this was going to come to a head anyway, and that he’s better off throwing in the towel openly now so he could be part of the next adminstration.

Certainly, if I was an ambitious politician, it would be worth considering.

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 19:29:25 +0000

I’ve had Watson’s blog on my RSS list for a fair while now, and all he ever seemed to discuss was the West Brom line-up. Maybe he had an ‘independent voice’ before he took the whips job, but he seemed anything but radical since then.

Perhaps normal service will be resumed tomorrow, when he returns to the back-benches.