The most compelling need for an election yet...

George Osborne is doing the TV rounds and raises an excellent point:

“The real story of today, as well as the election result, is the meltdown and chaos in the Labour government. "

He also said

Labour are acting in a “self indulgent” manner, “putting the Labour party’s interests ahead of the country interests”.

This echoes nicely with

Ben Brogan's analysis

that;

"The kingmakers have all calculated that Gordon Brown's departure would mean an immediate election which would, in turn, destroy the Labour party. It's a crude bit of political maths, but then it's a nasty business, politics."

Wonder if there is a certain lady in central London watching the news and wondering if she can do something about this? Labour are in it for themselves and by far the most compelling evidence yet that they have lost the moral authority to lead the country.

Just go.

UKIP let the mask slip.

UKIP seemed to basically manage to hold their "we're not a bunch of hoons" image together throughout their election campaign, but now the polls have shut things are quick to fall apart:Not just a token actavist or youth member, that is from the Facebook page from UKIP's former Director of Communications and Westminster candidate in 2001, 2005 and no doubt at the next election.

Charming.

Via 

Scary Mary

 

Reshuffle? What Reshuffle?

This was meant to be Gordon stamping his authority back on his Government and Westminster. Balls was up, Darling out, Miliband sideways etc.

And what has happened? No long knifes, mere plastic ones - absolutely sweet FA. It's over. He couldn't move anyone without them quitting. Darling stays, Straw stays, Miliband stays and errr so it is 'LordAlan' now is it?

What was that about quote about ending the era of celebrity?

"Those who say we are in a time when there are no heroes...

...they just don't know where to look."



Five years ago today the world lost one of its finest conservative voices.

History will judge Reagan far kinder than the current undeserving occupier of the White House. There are few out there who will ever define conservatism and the role of the state in such an articulate and down to earth manner.

Somewhere out there, TB prays there is another Ronald Reagan.

So who are the other plotters?

Perfect time to rehash one of those fantastic photoshop efforts that were knocked up by

Plato

in the wake of Purnell's little photo faking incident a few years back. Last night the red tory lit the touch paper that could see Brown out on his arse by Monday morning.

Very interesting to note the radio silence last night from; Johnson, Balls, Harman, Mandelson, Cruddas, Ed Miliband etc. What are this lot up to?

It's going to be a brilliant weekend.

Shock: Radio's Iain Dale forgets the medium...

Once upon a time

Iain Dale

was a prominent TV pundit, however tonight it seems that he has got a little too used to his new found career as the eminent opinionated talk radio guru. He actually turned up to talk on the BBC in his PJs, dressed for radio it seems:

What has he done with that wonderful collection of Duchamp ties?

+++PURNELL QUITS+++

Here.

LIVE CHAT - Going in For the Kill Edition

Welcome to TB's ten pm gossip and Question Time live chat.

Cometh the hour...

Things are quiet, too quiet. There is TV and radio silence due to our archaic election laws.

Ten o'clock is rapidly approaching...

Who will be the first to break cover?

Feel free to distribute the graphic. TB is playing on photoshop while waiting for his degree result to come through. Grrh.

Messing about on the river...

"The water was very refreshing and I thoroughly recommend it"

Reshuffle headaches...

So Ali and little Davie won't budge off the swings, but Mandy and wee Eddie want a go. This could turn out to be quite a headache for the teacher...

There is a real pickle here for Gordon. Darling is screwed on expenses and could make a nice scapegoat for the recent problems. Brown and Balls apparently used to stay up late at night talking about when Gordon was PM and Balls his loyal neighbour at No11, but Gordon must realise how unpopular his blinking chum really is. He is hated not just in the PLP, but the wider public too. To try put him in the Treasury would send even more Labour backbenchers and other Cabinet members to the rebellion.

Another problem is Darling knows where the bodies are buried. He has been up close and personal with Brown for the last two years, he's seen the blood and the tears and a couple of articles and speeches from him would bring the whole house of cards crashing down. He was putting out thinly veiled threats last night through "friends" that suggested it would be the Treasury or nothing for him. Balls is a loyal puppet, but how would he take being hacked down at the knees by Gordon, destroying his last ever chance of fulfilling his life's dream of becoming Chancellor?

So Darling has to go somewhere and will refuse any job but Chancellor. He could be pretty dangerous on the backbenches and Gordo must know this.

Over at the Foreign Office another headache is brewing. Miliband said the other day that he wanted at least another four years as Foreign Secretary (someone should really break it to him gently!) Reports again last night suggested that he too would refuse to go elsewhere in the Cabinet. Crick confirmed on Newsnight that Mandy had been witnessed openly discussing his desire to get his foot across the FCO threshold and this is where it gets complicated. Gordon may yet regret bring Mandy back from Brussels. He is by far the most sophisticated spinner and operator Labour has left and essentially has Gordon by the short and curlies. As one of the original gang of four he still has a lot of power over the New Labour machine. A public loss of confidence from Mandy would spell the end for Brown pretty much instantly. Miliband is also a leadership contender, and one that Gordon would loath to see succeed him, but like Darling he is a problem to upset. Miliband, despite his botched attempt at a coup last year and his loss of dignity through all things banana related since then, still has friends and the media would go to another level were he to do the dirty.

So it's a real tough one for Gordon. Who is the most dangerous to upset? TB's gut instinct says that Darling will play a key role in the axing of Gordon, they were once close friends and it would add to the increasing drama and Shakespearean feel to the whole saga. Brown would be a fool to force Mandy's hand. Mandy has his heart set on the FCO and TB is fairly sure Mandy gets what Mandy wants. If he was serious about refusing other jobs then Miliband is clearly heading for the backbenches. Could he not be convinced to go to the Home Office?

At this rate it will be amazing if Gordon is even able to get to a reshuffle. The plates are moving fast, but if it does go ahead, for what it's worth, here are TBs predictions:

No11: Balls
FCO: Mandy
Home: Woodward

Carslberg don't do Labour reshuffles, but if they did...

Good morning it's polling day...

Tory Bear's bastard postal vote went to a flat he lived in two years ago. For the love of god please go vote for change.

Anyone fancy a curry?

Much better than anything Tom Watson ever wrote.

Postman Prat

A while back TB said he was praying that CCHQ were war-gaming how to defeat Alan Johnson. Well the good news is that

ConservativeHome

are tonight reporting some of that strategy is starting to come together. The bad news is that it might actually have to be used.

While TB can't wait to see Brown dragged kicking and screaming from Number 10 for the good of the country, the Tories will face a much tougher battle against the lovable postie.

Unless of course that little skeleton in the cupboard caused some real damage?

In the meantime there is some cheer from Nick Boles: "However personally appealing Alan Johnson may be, he cannot at this late stage repair the deep fissures in the Labour Party or offer the British people real change from the failed approach of the last decade."

Bring it on.

Exclusive: Britain can't afford another year of Labour

Tell him Sarah...

Isn't it about time someone told Gordon it's curtains?

Woof.

You wouldn't think it given the behaviour of certain Cabinet Ministers today, but there's an election on don't you know. Across the country the final blitz's are happening. With every leaflet drop comes great peril. It's a hard life for some hacks. Take Tory blogger

James Burdett

who didn't do too well with a large dog, his fingers and letterbox:

Can anyone out there beat that?

UPDATE 00:17: Yes apparently they can - The (very nicely) newly redesgined

ThunderDragon blog

reports:

Luckily, I didn’t put my whole hand through the letterbox, and all the dog bit was the tip of my finger as I pushed the leaflet through. Painful and rather bloody, but nothing worse than that.

Unfortunately, at the time I had no first aid kit on me or even in my car, so I ended up wrapping my finger in one my leaflets to try and staunch the blood. Of course, I didn’t let that stop me leafleting and continued until I had completed the area.

Ouch.

+++Blears on the run+++

Seems Hazel Blears needed a police escort for her own protection as she boarded a train back to chipmonk land.

Presumably they were there to block incoming Nokias...

UPDATE 15.27:

Dizzy

has gone on the attack, suggesting that NO10 are attempting to trash Blears' reputation.

Guido

argues that Andrew Porter and the Telegraph have learnt nothing since Smeargate. Winding up the Chipmunk further would be a prep school error from Brown.

She is going to snap.

Quote of the Day:

"I think Labour backbenchers feel under the cosh... they are nervous... last thing any MP wants is General Election".

-Mandy

What a tool.

Hat-Tip: SkyNew's

@cherylsmith

Lord Baldamort...

Liam Bryne didn't get off to the best of starts in his role a Cabinet Officer Minister when the details of a memo he wrote for staff called "Working for Liam Bryne" was leaked. Cue much hilarity about this anal little man's desire for soup, coffees and salads on the hour and to minute precision.

He came to the forefront of public anger during the Smeargate scandal when he was put on the television to defend Gordon and co. Bryne is very good at lying through his teeth and gives the impression of being totally and utterly deluded. He has been back on the airwaves today defending Gordon and trying to suggest that these resignations are due to the expenses scandal and not a timed attack on his dear boss.

Watson knew it was over - hence why he went yesterday. Bryne can cling on to the end though - he doesn't have to rush back to his seat to rescue his post government career - Bryne is sitting on a ten thousand majority. He can afford to stay right to the end of the swan song. He is making himself look like a fool though.

There is no way he really can believe what he is spouting. He said the Prime Minister would be continuing with “wide-ranging and ambitious plans to accelerate our recovery” over the next few weeks, and added that it is important that he has the team he wants behind him. On the resignation of Hazel Blears he said: “I don’t think it’s a real surprise that in the current environment – that some people take quite personal decisions about what they want to do next. “It’s not a surprise when the media puts people under such pressure that people take these personal decisions. I’m not criticising the media in any way, it’s simply an observation."

It's just lies and spin. Blears would have gone weeks ago if she hadn't thought she could survive the expenses scandal. It was Gordon's behaviour and leadership style that drove her out and for Bryne to go on TV and suggest otherwise is a lie. Liam Bryne should take a long hard look in the mirror.

As Nan would say - "What a load of old shiiite."

Quotes -

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