Independently minded? Brown can rely on one loyal supporter to the end.

It’s hardly a surprise. I suspect Lady Hermon might vote for Gordon Brown to become Prime Minister for life, if legislation to that effect were put before the House of Commons. A sizeable chunk of the Labour leader’s cabinet has deserted him, but the member for North Down is a die hard loyalist. She’s like Ed Balls without any influence.

In a motion put before the House yesterday evening calling for a general election, Hermon voted against all the opposition parties (other than the SDLP) who supported the motion and with the dying, discredited government. Perhaps she thinks the electorate need not be consulted at all and that Gordon (who plainly knows best) should continue to exercise his wisdom as some manner of benevolent dictator.

Comments

Timothy Belmont said…
It does sound ironic, but it probably wouldn't do HM Opposition any detriment for Mr Brown to remain till the general election. To my mind, it's not in the Country's best interest; however that is another matter.
Lady Hermon must be examining her position. If she cannot accept the Conservatives and Unionists as a political entity, she must either declare her intention to stand as an independent, join another party or retire.

Tim
11 June 2009 at 10:50
Owen Polley said…
I believe, if she is to retain any integrity whatsoever, she must either retire or take the Labour whip. Her so called independence is disingenuous. I don't think it would do the opposition any harm for GB to remain as PM either, but the issue is getting the election now, not replacing him as Labour leader. We need a new PM - but not a Labour one.
11 June 2009 at 10:58
loki said…
I see the DUP rolled into line with the Conservatives for the ifrst time in a year. Even they can see which way the wind is blowing. No surprise with Sylvia though. I'm sure her party leader is delighted it her performance
11 June 2009 at 14:25
O'Neill said…
"I see the DUP rolled into line with the Conservatives for the ifrst time in a year."

Loki,

(I think) they voted with the Conservatives on the Ghurka motion a couple of months back
11 June 2009 at 18:59
JMT said…
She has been rumbled in Northe Down.

Jim Kilfedder, although an independent Unionist, was a conservative in all but name and re-elected unopposed each time. Only since his death has the seat flown back and forward between other parties.

Supporting Brown will do her no favours. My elderly mother is disgusted.
12 June 2009 at 08:45
Anonymous said…
loki

Actually, the DUP votes with the Tories in excess of 90% of the time. FFS, get over the 42-day thing!
12 June 2009 at 09:49
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Football fever in Russia

Russia Blog is getting excited about Euro 2008. Indeed it is drawing parallels between Guus Hiddink and Peter the Great in terms of successful Russo-Dutch exchanges of expertise. Meanwhile, in Moscow, fans have been taking to the streets in order to celebrate the national team’s achievements.
Read more

Shia Revival

The Iranian author, Vali Nasr, has written an interesting book called The Shia Revival: How conflicts within Islam will shape the future .  Its argument is exceptionally pertinent at a time when European governments are edging toward arming Sunni extremists in Syria. Nasr portrays Shiism as the more liberal, palatable strand of Islam and a religion for underdogs.  He makes his point persuasively, although putting a progressive gloss on the regime in Iran and Hezbollah does undermine his thesis. A lot of the material is focussed on Iraq, where there is a Shia majority, which was suppressed during the presidency of Saddam Hussein.  The leading cleric, Ayatollah Sistani, is depicted as a moderating influence, who opposed retaliation as Sunni extremism threatened to cause sectarian civil war. The book’s opening chapter provides an erudite and fascinating history of factions within Islam.  The split dates back to the origins of the faith and a dispute over the prophet Mohammed’
Read more

Walker loada rubbish

Former BBC employee Brian Walker has overrun Slugger O’Toole lately with countless poorly structured, poorly written posts. It is possible quickly to recognize and avoid these by subjecting each Slugger piece to a cursory inspection and identifying those which feature characteristic lack of paragraphing and a tenuous grasp on the technicalities of linking source articles. Although I generally evade Walker’s posts by this method, occasionally (and unfortunately) I have persevered and found that their content is as unrewarding as the style in which they are written. Today, for instance, I inflicted upon myself Brian’s thoughts on a mooted Fianna Fail / SDLP merger . In actual fact, he is right to welcome news that the Southern Irish party has dropped this proposal from its agenda; however, the logic by which he arrives at this conclusion is parochial nonsense. To summarise, Walker believes that pursuing realignment with larger parties, whether they are from the rest of the UK or fro
Read more