Friday 31 January 2003

Browned off

Brian Monteith MSP writes about Gordon Brown in today's Edinburgh Evening News:
No wonder Mr Brown looks so glum. With the economy turning sour and likely to get worse he’s not likely to become Prime Minister, and with a deteriorating reputation he may not last as Chancellor.
There was a fascinating post on the Libertarian Alliance's forum this morning. It was claimed that a meeting took place very recently between Gordon Brown, Eddie George (Governor of the Bank of England), Mervyn King (the Governor designate) and three to four others. Brown was apparently told that he was unacceptable to the City as prime minister and that a Brown premiership would lead to "a major and semi-permanent flight of capital".

It was also claimed that "dark rumours circulate that Blair is stoking up the war fever in order to forestall a full-scale public humiliation by the City". Can Blair really sack Brown without being disowned by his own party? If the Iraq venture goes badly, can Brown make a move for the leadership with the backing of his own party but the enmity of the City?