Bets on Ken

[AtW]

Well, anybody betting on Ken winning the leadership contest and then beating Brown at his own game? Clearly if Ken loses next elections he won't be fit to fight again.

[PRC1964]

I've got him in my "celebrity death list". So I hope the stress does for him before the end of the year. I could make £15 if he does.

[zathras]

Well, anybody betting on Ken winning the leadership contest and then beating Brown at his own game? Clearly if Ken loses next elections he won't be fit to fight again.

I actually hope he does because I don't hold much hope of the rest of them showing GB/TB et al at the useless wastes of space that they are. I also think he is best placed to show GB's handling of the economy as the Fubar that he has made of it; mostly because Ken was his predecessor in the position. The economy may indeed be strong but that is because it was in such a good state when GB took over and anyway what benefits their are could be placed at the door of Eddie George and the BoE since they took over interest rates.

Many of the economic pointers show GB's handling to be less than it is pictured. For example we have had the longest sustained rise in Unemployment since the early 90's and either way the rate unemployment was reducing was less when GB took over. Inflation is now rising and is above target. Pensions have gone from being over to under subscribed (leading to calls to effectly ban retirement - work till you drop).

The yougsters that are against Ken come across as William Hague II and William Hague III and I find them a bit know it all and slimy.

[OwlHoot]

I've got him in my "celebrity death list". So I hope the stress does for him before the end of the year. I could make £15 if he does.

He tries to present himself as a blokey easy-going salt-of-the-Earth type, but I've heard it said more than once by people who know him that he's an obnoxiously arrogant self-absorbed git, and totally impervious to any new ideas or suggestions.

When applied to Clarke, it seems that corny leopards and spots crack really is more than usually true!

(Although a Tory, I'd sooner vote for Beelzebub and his army of imps and demons than the Tories led by Clarke.)

[Lucifer Box]

Gordon Brown's first speech to the house in 1997, a few days after the election, coincided with the release the previous day of the most recent quarter's GDP figures. They were very rosy figures indeed. The first opposition MP to respond to the speech was Ken Clarke, whose opening gambit was, "I would just like to congratulate the Chancellor on his excellent stewardship of the economy which has clearly helped to produce such fine growth."

Cue howls of laughter and a lot of front bench Blairites with faces like slapped arses.

[Lucifer Box]

When he was Health secretary, he always insisted on smoking a cigar at his weekly briefing session with his civil servants, much to their extreme annoyance. Gets my vote!

[AtW]

When he was Health secretary, he always insisted on smoking a cigar at his weekly briefing session with his civil servants, much to their extreme annoyance.

Yeah I hear he does some "work" for a big tobacco company

[WageSlave]

He tries to present himself as a blokey easy-going salt-of-the-Earth type, but I've heard it said more than once by people who know him that he's an obnoxiously arrogant self-absorbed git, and totally impervious to any new ideas or suggestions.

I was still at school when Ken was in office, but I worked with some good people (hard to believe, I know) who worked closely with him, and they all said he was a genuinely good bloke, always took his staff down the pub, etc. I've worked with a few ministers myself and I couldn't call any of them decent, so he must have left a good impression.

[wendigo100]

I vividly remember him on that stage with Blair and Brown promoting Britain in Europe. Now he admits it has been a failure.

Doesn't say much for his judgement on the big issues, does it.

Caveat: It says even less about Blair and Brown's, but they still got re-elected.

[AtW]

Doesn't say much for his judgement on the big issues, does it.

He just changed his view to gain broader support in his own party. Totally understandable especially considering that he may be referring to implementation (Blair's work) rather than algorithm (taking part in Europe)