Former PM Gordon Brown – who lost the only general election he ever contested as Labour party leader – spoke today to an audience consisting almost entirely of right-wing so-called ‘centrists’ at the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) conference. Yet it’s Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters who are always looking backwards, of course.
Unsurprisingly, the BBC is giving the conference an unusual level of attention as part of its non-stop coverage of Labour’s ‘antisemitism problem’ – which apparently just “won’t go away”. Presumably, BBC News’ non-stop coverage of the issue is considered to play no part in this.
But the coverage did bring one moment of light relief in a moment from Brown’s speech that felt very like a ‘Freudian slip’ – and certainly many left-wingers will consider it an excerpt from the Labour right’s game-plan:
No, you didn’t mis-hear. Brown told the assembled rightists that they and he must never “allow [them]selves to be in a position where [they] are not the problem”.
SKWAWKBOX comment:
Remember this clip every time you hear smears and complaints from centrists and it will all make a lot more sense.
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He needs to lay some flowers on the graves of the Atos dead (81,000 sick and disabled people) and then the remainder of the 120,000 who died because of Tory austerity.
Then he needs to search within to see where his compassion and humanity has gone.
http://calumslist.org
The continuing incessant relentless attacks on Labour are in full flow with even a liberal paper like the Guardian leading the charge. This has become a brutal, dismal and upsetting time. The attacks are being led by the right of the labour party, billionaire MSM owners and the rich who’s vested interests fuel their vitriol at the thought of being a bit less rich and not having the power and control they hold now. It is vital we hold on to the values and vision of a better world less harsh and agressive where people come before money.
‘Flash’ gordon brown – gone from saving he world from the banking crisis, to NOT allowing himself (& his other superheroes) to NOT being the problem…
Yesterday’s bore…
And let us not forget this:
“Gordon Brown today told Tzipi Livni, Israel’s former foreign minister, that he was “completely opposed” to the warrant issued by a British court for her arrest for war crimes and pledged to work to change the law that allowed it.”
As a general rule. when Gordon Brown advocates a particular course of action, it is probably the wrong thing to do.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/16/tzipi-livni-israel-arrest-warrant
All we need now is a joint article by Mandelson & Blair to complete the pro-Israel propaganda campaign.
We’ve already had laughable hyperbole like “an existential threat to Britain’s Jews” applied to Corbyn, so maybe Blair & Mandelson could suggest that failure to back the full IHRA examples would certainly lead to the end of humanity.
Gordon Brown hmmn Mr PFI allowing private companies to screw the public, Mr Tax Credits giving a fantastic subsidy to Neo Liberal capital and its drive for cheap labour, Mr I voted for the Iraq War, Mr I neglected working class communities leaving a vacuum for others to try to fill, Mr appalling inter-personal communication skills, now lectures Labour on what to do.
Wonder which bore is next on Mandy’s rota?
Labour should perhaps use the broken record technique: “These issues are being addressed” then get back to fighting for diverse working people who are being hammered by the Vile Tories!
“Gordon Brown hmmn Mr PFI allowing private companies to screw the public. ”
https://www.rt.com/shows/renegade-inc/437493-uk-private-finance-initiative/
Renegade inc, does PFI this week and Brown’s particular manipulation via obfuscation, of government debt using PFI/PPP is exposed clearly @ approx. 09.11. New Labour were the true champions of the TINA ideology, that’s why Thatcher said her greatest achievement was Blair and New Labour.
A must watch. NHS and scandal of felling Sheffield’s street trees included. This what the Blair/Brownite neoliberals want to continue… they remain as indoctrinated as ever.
An aside regarding companies selling arms to Saudi, these arms sales often come with long term ‘service contracts’ that ensure a regular income and make the sales of weapons to kill men women and children, destroy infrastructure and societies even more lucrative.
What about Geoffrey Robinson QC’s legal assessment? No one seems to be addressing the issues, but continuing the hysteria. We need to make decisions in the cold light of day, not knee jerk the party into adopting something which may – may not – resolve the current fears expressed.
Labour Party Rules the four who allowed May to keep in power against all members interests should be expelled before they cause any further damage by their “vote labour get Tory” policy which means that no one who voted labour will trust labour ever again
Preening tosser strutted in the false glory of deregulation expansion while Thatcher’s bubble grew into the super-casino that made gambling addicts of bankers.
He could have hedged his bet – manufacturing, prostitution, anything – against the inevitability of the finance sector’s collapse but no – he chose to base the whole economy on banking, house price inflation and shopping.
End to boom and bust – yeah, right.
Then the Widow Twankey of pantomime economics meekly accepted the blame for Thatcher’s crash – now he thinks it’s water under the bridge and he can play the elder statesman again?
The only thing that’s changed in ten years is that the Tories have down-sized Britain with austerity and job insecurity.
All thanks to Brown.
In the end, the party’s definition of anti-Semitism has to be able to withstand a legal challenge, because if someone gets chucked out for calling Israel a racist state they may well take it to judicial review on the grounds that their right to legitimate free speech is being curtailed by the party, and win.
And the IHRA definition and examples weren’t written with UK legal protections in mind.
I think they need to find a totally different definition, or this mess could resurface again when it gets challenged in the courts. Best to get it right first time, rather than get it wrong and then be forced to change it.
Ah the man who sold our gold to cheaply the man who killed the dentist off has we new it how quaint he is his memory shitte doesn’t he and his greedie kind just go quietly you bet a honours will be coming his way. From the tories
I wouldn’t mind, but it’s not as though gordon’s fairly loose with bandying the bigotry label about, is it?
He was completely wrong then, and he’s every bit as wrong now.
Still, I guess that sums up gordon – Not being not a problem, as per.
Perhaps he should speak at conferences of other organisations: https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/jewish-voice-for-peace-board-of-trustees-responds-to-attacks-on-jeremy-corbyn-labour-party/
He’s hardly a caring Christian if he behaves like that – we were beaten in a GE with him as leader and all we seemed to learn was that he was quite an unpleasant individual. Since we now have a really nice Leader we have all the right-wing trying to make Jeremy sound as if he is evil incarnate. IT IS THE RIGHT-WING THAT IS EVIL.!!!!
Gordon, once I had high hopes for you young man, I even tipped you to become PM one day but now you are just a bitter ‘has been’. Better to stick to your sculpture.
The man that proudly bankrupted Britain, in the name of Neo-Liberalism.
Gordon Brown’s 2006 Mansion House speech:
I am grateful to many of you here tonight, including the Lord Mayor, who has agreed to serve on the new City advisory group.
Ed Balls, our new City Minister, will work with you to develop publish and then promote a long term strategy for the development of London’s financial services and promoting our unique advantages and assets. We will set a clear ambition to make Britain the location of choice for headquarters and services, including R&D, for even more of the world’s leading companies.
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And just as two years ago we promoted the action plan for liberalising financial services across Europe, I can tell you that the Treasury is now working with Charles McCreevy and with you to ensure that the forthcoming European financial services white paper signals a new wave of liberalisation
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/jun/22/politics.economicpolicy
Gordon Brown is a patron of the Jewish National Fund UK which refuses to sell land in Israel to Arabs.
https://www.jpost.com/International/UK-Palestinians-put-heat-on-Brown-over-JNF-patronage-78332