Wednesday 6th January 2010

BREAKING NEWS!!!

I have just got back from running a few errands in town to find Twitter going mad with the breaking news that ex-ministers Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt plan to call a secret ballot on Gordon Brown's leadership.
Now currently listening to Radio 5 Live, I forgot how exciting the breaking of a political story is and there was me thinking today's news agenda would be dominated by the weather!
The former Cabinet ministers have sent a letter round to all Labour MPs, but is this really the right time?
Gordon Brown has just finished his first Prime Ministers Question time of 2010, the biggest year for politics in recent times. From what I have just read, he performed well today and will have been boosted by the news that business secretary Peter Mandelson has finally come out and publicly supported him, but this latest development will come as a huge kick in the teeth.
At first glance, it seems that Hoon and Patricia are both bitter at being left in the cold in recent times and want to claim the glory of removing Brown from office. However, this could all work out in the Prime Minister's favour. If he comes through the leadership ballot unscathed then his reputation will improve, his leadership ability will no longer be questioned and he can strongly lead Labour into the general election.
At the moment though, to me it just looks like a petty display of selfishness from Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt, who haven't taken into account the damage their actions will cause to the Labour party in general. And no suprises, Gordon Brown's fiercest critic in his party Charles Clarke has backed their calls.
Listening to the radio now, Labour members are calling in and seem to be dismayed at this breaking news story. One loyal Labour voter has just claimed that Hoon and Hewitt have now handed the election "on a plate" to the Conservatives.
We shall have to wait to see if this all gathers momentum over the next few hours and days, but I'm hoping the Labour party can unite with Gordon Brown leading them into the election, which will definitely be held in the next five months, so surely its too late now for all this doubt.