Previously on this blog I covered the view among some journalists and Labour insiders that Gordon Browns PR man Damian McBride was partly to blame for Labours poor poll performance. It would be difficult not to have noticed that over recent months the Labour party have experienced a phoenix-esque recovery, particularly in the opinion polls (now just 4% off the Tory's). Interestingly enough the first green shoots of this recovery seem to have been spotted in the days and weeks following McBride's rather bizarre removal.
Perhaps this Labour recovery was caused by substance and good performance at Westminster but probably not, in my opinion there have been more gaffes in the recent period of Browns premiership than previously. In terms of policy although they have tried to re-package some of the old and tired ideas from the Blair era they have had little success.
Danny Alexander may have been incorrect then when he said the "resurrection" of Mandelson would not breath life into Browns "zombie" government but this is probably not the case as the British public do not seem to share much love for that particular arch-Blairite. I suppose it could have been Gordon's world saving economic actions.
None of those potential explanations seem plausible, the truth of the matter seems to be that spin is so integral to the New Labour project that they can not afford to get it minutely wrong. Labour are no longer a party of substance but a party of spin.
Yesterday I came across the most recent National Institute Economic Review report on the UK's economy. It makes pretty gloomy reading and rubbishes Gordon Brown's claim that the UK is well placed to deal with the global economic crisis. Unfortunately it seems the UK's economic downturn has experienced an unexpected quickening with the economy shrinking by as much as one percent in the months of September, October and November off this year. The report states that we shall suffer the "worst setback among the G7 country's" and that "the UK is especially vulnerable to the credit crisis"
The report concludes-
"The outlook for the public finances is poor. Public sector net borrowing will rise to 4.5 per cent of GDP in 2008–9, and then climb further to 5.3 per cent next year and 6.1 per cent in 2010–11. Public sector net debt will rise to 50.5 per cent of GDP in 2008–9. The deterioration in public sector net borrowing reflects the impact of the recession, together with weaker receipts from the financial and property sectors."
Add to this that on Tuesday the global bank predicted global trade would shrink for the first time since 1982, what cheerless times we live in.
Recent days have seen the stepping up of DUP attacks on the Ulster Unionist - Conservative link and we have now reached the stage where anyone supportive of the deal must be thinking they really have the DUP running scared.
The DUP tell us that the people of Ulster will have no truck with Cameron and his party, there can be only one answer to that - the DUP stands to gain in such a scenario, so why criticise it so often and hysterically in your press releases, letters, articles and blogs.
The DUP tell us the people of Northern Ireland shall suffer due to this deal as our Westminster MP's should be making as many friends from all major party's as possible. Interesting theory but surely having a sometime Government that is no longer an impartial mediator but rather a unionist with a "selfish and strategic interest" in Northern Ireland would be beneficial as opposed to being bit-part players and often outsiders in the government of our own country. The DUP have responded to this by saying politics is cyclical and a deal with Tory's will elicit Labour animosity, well let's be honest no unionist is on the best terms with that party anyway. I would be extremely surprised if our nine DUP MP's had many friends within the Labour party especially given how poorly many of them do that particular job (as highlighted by O'Neill).
The DUP have had much advice for the Ulster Unionists on this topic over recent months, well here is some for them - their major criticism has been concern that N.I. shall be alienated from a Labour government well I would appeal to the DUP to do a deal with them, its the perfect resolution to Northern Irelands democratic deficit. When the DUP was founded we were told they would be "left on social issues and right on constitutional", well it would seem then we have found a perfect marriage of convenience. Apologies just read that most recent DUP attack on the UUP-Tory deal apparently the DUP of today are a centre of right political force, guess that was just another principle dropped in the headlong dash for office and its benefits.
We have been told that the Tory's will gladly cast the Ulster Unionists aside and shall not value their opinion. Persuading from inside a government can only be an improvement on shouting about something from the outside as the DUP do. The Ulster Unionists are doing what they can to ensure NI's voice is heard, a concept wholly lost on the DUP who are content to make loud noises about anything that will secure votes but are reluctant to use government to ensure a fair deal for the people of NI. Briefly looking at the DUP website quickly shows their real strategy when dealing with the PM and his government. Two of today's top five articles involve shouting at the PM over something in the hope that they can win electoral support from it, I mean how much can "save the world" Gordon really value the DUP opinion on Libyan terrorism / the UK's small businesses, probably a great deal less than MP's that take his party's whip.
The truth of the matter is most DUP members would have loved their own party to create such a link and their vitriolic attacks show just how much they wanted it. Unfortunately for them their bizarre infusion of Ulster-nationalist politics, intolerance and hatred makes them un-palatable to the Conservative Party and a party far removed from the realities of modern day Britain.
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