2010: A year in politics

CHANGING times in politics and 2010 has been a very busy and chaotic year.  Demonstrations, recriminations, ramifications, blunders – it has had as much drama as a typical episode of Holby City.  A new coalition government, a new era or the same old story for some, this year has been the most dramatic in politics for some time.

DOOMED: Darling's budget bought grim news

It all began in January when Geoffrey Hoon and Patricia Hewitt tried to start a rebellion to usurp Gordon Brown from his position as leader of the Labour party.  This failed miserably, but it summed up the frustrations of some within the Labour government.  They were convinced that they were going to lose the General Election.  The bad press continued as three Labour MP’s were charged over their use of expenses from the devastating political scandal that ripped through the system in 2009.  Alistair Darling’s final budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer in March bought the predictable grim news that we were all fearing.  However, these fears would be briefly replaced by a sense of election fever.

TWIST: The leadership debates bought more intrigue

Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg went onto the campaign trail across the country.  Power swayed between the three political parties, which included live televised leadership debates.  Held on ITV, Sky and BBC for three consecutive Thursdays in April, the debates sparked a new form of interest to many, especially as these were held in primetime form.  Brown’s chances of staying in Downing Street took a significant blow, when he had a fateful meeting on immigration with long-time Labour supporter Gillian Duffy in Rochdale.  “That was a disaster, everything; she’s some sort of bigoted woman that said she used to be Labour. I mean it’s just ridiculous.”

FISTCUFFS: Adam Boulton vs Alistair Campbell live on Sky

Whilst UKIP leader Nigel Farage was lucky to escape with his life, after a plane crash in a final bid for campaigning votes on Election Day, the election went through with minimal fuss.  The country spoke and a ‘hung parliament’ was the outcome.  The Conservatives won the most amounts of seats, but not the magical number needed for a majority.  Coalition negotiations began between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, whilst Brown sat and waited in No.10, hoping for a miracle to survive.  To keep the election headlines going, Sky News political editor Adam Boulton and ex-Labour spin doctor Alistair Campbell had a near punch-up live on Sky’s Live at Five. 

On May 10, Brown announced he was stepping down as leader of the Labour party.  24 hours later, he decided to quit Downing Street.  As he walked away with wife Sarah and their two children, Brown’s final graceful words were; “As I leave the second most important job I hold, I cherish more the first I have, as a husband and father.  Thank you and goodbye.”

A few hours later, David Cameron rolled into Downing Street with wife Samantha to take the role as Prime Minister.  Nick Clegg took the Deputy Leader role and speculation began on his appointment; would it seem like a bad romance or a match made in heaven. . .

JOY: David Cameron cradles his new bundle of joy

Later that month, David Laws resigned from the new cabinet after claiming expenses to pay rent for his partner.  George Osbourne, the new chancellor delivered an emergency budget in June, stating; “This helps deal the country with its growing massive debts.”  “It pays for the past and plans for the future.”

The summer went past a little quieter, but for the Prime Minister, it bought a mixture of celebration and tragedy.  His father passed away after illness, but David Cameron’s wife Samantha gave birth to a beautiful baby girl whilst on a family holiday.  Florence Rose Endellion Cameron was born into the world at the Royal Cornwall Hospital. 

COMPETITION: Ed beat David to Labour leadership power

In September, Ed Miliband beat stiff competition from Ed Balls, Andy Burnham, Diane Abbott and crucially, his brother David, to leadership of the Labour party at its annual conference in Manchester.  Ed got the nod, as he was backed significantly by the trade unions.  Four days later, David Miliband elected to quit frontline politics to spend more time with his family... 

As the clocks changed, times changed for the coalition government too.  With Ireland in trouble financially, George Osbourne agreed to lend them a massive bailout.  The figure of £7billion was stupid, to help ‘a friend in need.’  Ugly demonstrations soon followed, when MP’s recently decided to increase University tuition fees.  Scenes in London not seen for twenty years horrified many, but bought the popularity of the government significantly down.

2010 has had a load of interesting political stories, far more happened than in the ‘boring’ old days of the 90’s.  Will 2011 bring even more?  What can be said is that 2010’s year in politics will never be forgotten.

General Election 2010: Four Weeks of Crazy Campaigning

      

On Tuesday 6^th April 2010, the worst secret in politics was revealed, when the Prime Minister emerged out of No.10 Downing Street, flanked by his closest allies.  Gordon Brown confirmed what we had all predicted, the 2010 General Election would be held on Thursday May 6^th.  Nobody could have predicted the amazing twists and turns that have followed since that sunny, Tuesday morning.  As polling day approaches, it is interesting to lookback at the moments that have made this General Election the closest battle since 1992. 

The early sparring was between the two heavyweights of the political spectrum, Gordon Brown, and the Conservative leader David Cameron.  As the battle lines were drawn, it was Cameron who held a significant advantage in the early forecast polls.  Meanwhile, Brown was failing to deliver on his initial promise of interacting with the people across the UK.  An angry father proved this as early as day two in ‘Campaign 2010,’ when he approached Mr. Brown about why his son couldn’t get into his preferred primary school.  Gordon walked past him and ignored him, without a care in the world, to which the father response was ‘Joke!’  If David Cameron thought that he had the election under control, an historic event turned politics on its head just one week later.

On Thursday 15^th April, at Manchester’s Granada Studios, Alistair Stewart hosted the first ever live TV election debate between the three main party leaders.  The 90-minute debate, broadcast live on ITV1, saw a resounding victory for the Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg.  Cameron’s underperformance on that night might well cost him the keys to Downing Street.  On the Liberal Democrats Twitter homepage, they posted the following tweet: “Vote for real change, not fake change,” straight after the debate.  All of a sudden, Clegg was on a crest of wave and the YouGov, Sky News and ITN polls soon had him surging ahead of Brown and into second place.  Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown was convinced that the tide was turning: “I think last night potentially was a game change."  Labour was suffering and soon, they were under attack from natural forces.

The volcanic eruption in Iceland on the same day of the first election debate caused havoc for travellers, as air travel was grounded for the best part of five days.  The ramifications are still being felt across the globe today with Cameron and Clegg strongly criticising Labour’s handling of the travel chaos.  The focus of attention seemed to be on their slow response to the crisis and the decision to ground all air travel for so long.  Once again, this disaster would hurt Labour in the polls.  Could the second live election debate turns things back in their favour?

Realising that the tide was swinging away from him, Gordon Brown urged Nick Clegg to join forces to keep the Tories out of No.10.  Clegg’s response was that Brown is “a desperate politician.”  In the Sky News Leaders Debate on April 22^nd, the results weren’t as clear cut, although many experts believed that Clegg edged the contest again, despite having to endure Adam Boulton’s question on his private expenses, which had made that day’s front page of The Daily Telegraph.  Conservative Shadow Chancellor William Hague said on Twitter – “David Cameron has done really well tonight, explaining his positions with great clarity and conviction and taking no nonsense from the rest.”  Despite this, the Tories needed another surge and last Wednesday, it came in the shape of Gillian Duffy, a long-time Labour supporter.

Following a seemingly pleasant conversation with Duffy in Rochdale, Gordon Brown forgot his Sky News microphone remained on as he was driven away, and his damming comment left him embarrassed and humiliated.  “Everything, she’s just a bigoted woman that said she used to be Labour, I mean, it’s just ridiculous.” An apology swiftly followed, but with egg on his face, followed by another dismal performance in the BBC Election Debate on April 29th, it meant that the possibility of a Labour majority in the polls had been well and truly extinguished. 

So, tomorrow, the nation decides who should be in power for the next five years.  This General Election campaign has swung back and forth and as the political parties head into the finishing straight, it is still too close to forecast the final outcome.  As Nick Clegg has said already – “The cross you put on the ballot paper is small, but what you are doing is big."  It is now for us to decide.

Gordon Gaff Might Well Have Blown It For Brown

Apart from close neighbours, no-one would have heard about Gillian Duffy until yesterday, when an exchange with views saw Labour’s General Election campaign blow up in spectacular fashion.  Who would have thought that going off to the shop to buy a loaf of bread would cause such a political storm.

Gordon Brown was campaigning in Rochdale yesterday, desperate to turn around Labour’s fortunes in the polls, which have taken a significant hit from a campaign that has lacked inspiration throughout.  He and Duffy ended up in conversation on the street for around five minutes, through the advice of Brown’s PA, who discovered that Duffy was a long-standing supporter of the Labour party.  It seemed fairly pleasant, with Gordon defending the party’s policies and Duffy, pointing out their failings, including the hotly-debated subject of Eastern European immigrants.  They parted on good terms, but as Gordon Brown disappeared into the back of his car, he had forgot to turn off a microphone, contributed by Sky News for the campaign trail.  The next discussion was a blunder of the first magnitude.

Brown: “That was a disaster!” “Well, they should never have put me with that woman, whose idea was that?”

PA: “I don’t know, I didn’t see.”

Brown: “It was Sue I think, it’s just ridiculous.”

PA: “What did she say?

Brown: “EVERYTHING, SHE’S JUST SOME SORT OF BIGOTED WOMAN, THAT SAID SHE USED TO BE LABOUR.  I MEAN IT’S JUST RIDICULOUS”

He isn’t the first to have been caught out by the microphone.  In 1993, after a TV interview with ITN, John Major called his Cabinet colleagues “b######s”, promising to “crucify them,” whilst the likes of Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Prince Charles have also been embarrassed by the power of the clip-on mic.  With tonight’s leadership debate on the BBC focused on the economy, this was the worst possible time for Brown to produce such a horrendous moment of judgement.  His next appointment, on the Jeremy Vine Show for BBC Radio 2 showed his complete guilt.

Rather than continue fully with the trail in Manchester, Brown returned to the scene of his crime, to apologise to Gillian Duffy for his ‘slip of the tongue.’  He came out infront of the cameras, beaming with smiles, saying all was forgiven and forgotten.  However, the latest polls may pull out a different scenario.  The world’s media were obsessed yesterday with another twist that has turned this General Election campaign on its head.  With seven days to go, Gordon Brown has dug himself into a major hole and it might be too late to dig him out of it.  Yesterday, these private recriminations expose the Prime Minister to public humiliation.  He has a massive fight on his hands now, to restore the reputation of himself and his beleaguered party.  A resounding victory in tonight’s debate is the only ways forward.