Gordon Brown

[David Johnson]

"I think Lizard meant those around today."

Do you? Nothing in his post would indicate that.

"Unemployment was going down (and indeed still is) because Brown put huge swathes of people on the public payroll. "

In 2008, 19.6 per cent of all jobs were in the public sector. In 1997, it was 19.5 per cent. Even in 2010 , the proportion of public sector jobs remains lower than it was at the end of the early nineties recession: 23.1 per cent of jobs were in the public sector in 1992, compared with 21 per cent. The Tories were as reliant on public sector employment as Labour.

By the way I noticed that you utterly failed to respond to my point "In the last 9 months under Boy George, the economy has flatlined. It is a
whisker away from a double dip recession." Any comments?

"Labour inherited an incredibly strong economy in 1997"

Oh really! if that was the case why was the deficit generally bigger under the Tories of Thatcher and Major than under the Labour government prior the GLOBAL recession of 2009 onwards?

"The Sun did not hack Brown's phone to get the Fraser story. It was a tip-off from a member of the public. Brown says that he and Mrs Brown cried after the call from Rebekah Brooks. The same Rebekah Brooks for whom Sarah Brown arranged a 40th birthday party and who had "sleepovers" at Chequers."

No-one is denying that both Labour and Tory governments kowtowed to Murdoch. That does not invalidate in any way the point I am making i.e. if Brown had said, dont print this story, would it have had an effect?

"How many people could name/recognise any of the MPs/peers jailed? Gordon Brown fiddled his exes, so did H. Blears, M. Beckett, A. Darling, E. Balls, Y. Cooper as well as numerous Tories and Liberals. Funny how none of the big names got sent down"

You are showing a complete lack of understanding of what the expenses scandal was about. The problem with the expenses scandal, is that there were few, if any guidelines as to what could/could not be claimed i.e. gardening expenses etc etc so MPs took advantage of very weak, almost non-existent regulation. Nor is "flipping" your primary residence to take advantage of expenses a criminal offence which is why MPs were not charged in a law court. Those MPs who were charged were people who had been fraudulent i.e. invented substantial expenses with forged receipts that they had never actually incurred.

CHeers
D

[David Johnson]

"He got a phone call from Rebekah Brooks saying the NOTW had discovered the information about his son and that they were running with the story."

Brown stated this in an interview. Although the Murdoch empire has contradicted other aspects of Brown's statement and speech in Parliament, they have not contradicted this point about Brook's call.

Cheers
D

[David Johnson]

"i think this hacking scandal is just a distraction tactic to divert attention away from the collapsing euro, Greece, Italy Spain etc bailouts and it has given Brown chance to come back out from under his stone."

I dunno where you get your news information from, but the stuff I read/watch has been full of the euro situation for weeks and months.

Cheers
D

[Robches]

If Brown had told Rebekah Wade not to run the story about Frazer, she couldn't have done it. You can't just print details of a child's medical condition because his father is PM. But Brown is such a nasty hypocrite that he didn't dare to tell her no, and indeed stayed "friends" with her afterwards, but now she's down and out he's happy to kick her head in, secure in the knowledge that she can't do him any harm. He is a gutless, pathetic bastard. Until he stood up in parliament the other day I had managed to put him to the back of my mind (he never turns up there after all, though he takes the money), but now I remember why I hate the charmless creep.

[David Johnson]

"If Brown had told Rebekah Wade not to run the story about Frazer, she couldn't have done it."

"Couldn't have done it". Which specific law of the land would prevent Wade printing it then?

Cheers
D

[Robches]

I believe it's the PCC guidelines. The medical condition of a child is a private matter, and if its parents had told the newspaper not to publish, they would have broken the guidelines, not the law, but they still wouldn't have done it, there is no public interest justification.

You cannot really deny Brown's hypocrisy can you? Now, when she can do him no harm, he's happy to stick the boot into Rebekah Wade. But back then, for all that he says she made him cry, he was still happy to invite her over and make friendly with her, all for his own political advantage. He really is a gutless bastard. John Prescott's got more integrity than him, at least he was wiling to take on Rebekah Wade when she still had some power. Brown's more like one of those Frenchman who claims to have been in the resistance during the occupation, when he was actually quite happy to work for Vichy to further his own ends.

[tuf766]

but it hasn't been headline news D, it only gets a brief mention.