The Wardman Wire

A valuable lesson goes unlearnt

Just a few days ago the polls closed down to just 5 points and the snap election chatter began to creep out again. And why not too? After all, if the Tories cannot do better than a five point lead with all that Gordon Brown and this Labour government have been through, then not only do the Tories stand little chance of winning an election but they quite frankly do not deserve to.

But it seems Gordon Brown has learnt nothing from what should have been his biggest and most valuable lesson, a lesson that so many in politics have not had the fortune to get a second shot at: ignore the opposition and sort your own house out.

To err once is human…

McCain couldn’t resist it in the US election – he became far too preoccupied with Barack Obama; Ken Livingstone did it with Boris at the London Mayoral elections. Then Gordon Brown did it for the first time last year when he was at the peak of the Brown bounce. Brown decided he wanted to toy with the opposition, brew up election chatter to put the pressure on Cameron instead of getting on with the business of government. We all know where that landed him – very nearly in the history books as one of Britain’s shortest serving Prime Ministers. Incredibly, old Gordy looks to have done it again.

Playing politics rather than delivering government

Yesterday’s pre-budget report was as much about saving the economy as it was about trying to make a dig at the Tories. Brown has clearly got carried away with the press and polls and seems to think that his best strategy is to focus on economics – which to a greater extent is right. But he read in to it all too much; he thought that meant use economics to attack the Tories when the rest of us wanted him to use economics to save our jobs and rescue the remaining few quid in our pockets.

Instead Brown went for tax cuts. Ridiculous tax cuts. He thought that by cutting VAT he would be stealing the Tories clothes as the party of low taxation and in turn that would win back those Blairites who were all a bit too right wing to back Brown. What he did not bargain on was the fact the electorate is not quite as dumb as it looks and is just starting to get wise after all these years of Brown playing politics when he should be delivering government. Saving me 2.5% of 17.5% is a cynical, dangerous and stupid way to grab headlines.

Not only is this such a minute saving it makes the pre-Christmas sales look like absolute give aways, but who an earth is going to rewrite their entire price list for the sake of a few pence? Only Supermarkets would bother - and most of their produce is VAT exempt. All we have left is an admin headache for a bunch of small businesses in their monthly bills. And what’s more, we will all have to pay for the shortfall when VAT will no doubt have to rise to 20% when this stunt goes wrong (or some stealth tax of course!).

Why?

Brown: you were just starting to win a few people over again, why have you been side tracked with playing party politics? The simple answer is that Gordon Brown is and always has been the master of gesture politics, but never government.