Brown: I will not engage in leadership gossip
Gordon Brown refused to answer journalists’ questions as to his position in the Labour party at his monthly press conference.
Asked if there was anyone who could take his place, the prime minister moved on to other matters and refused to be drawn on issues of leadership.
“Who in your cabinet could do your job”, journalists asked Mr Brown – a question he avoided by saying: “I’m not going to be put off by the sort of gossip you’re talking about today.”
During a stormy session, one journalist stood up to tell Mr Brown there was a theory circulating that “you were an excellent chancellor but you’re not cut out to be prime minister”.
“We’re making the right decisions as a government,” Mr Brown answered. “I’m happy to be judged on what I do and how we perform.”
A foreign journalist stood up to ask Mr Brown why everything he did resulted in negative headlines, to laughs from the audience.
Matters quickly turned to issues of economic competence since the chancellor’s mini-budget was followed by a worrying statement from Bank of England governor Mervyn King.
Journalists asked the prime minister if he hadn’t gambled his politicial future on crossing his fingers, given that he was unable to do anything about the global economy.
The comment was in response to Mr Brown’s statement earlier today that we would save the UK economy again. The prime minister respondd that they were being pessimistic.
He was also asked how he could claim economic competence after “conjuring money out of thin air” to sove the 10p tax rate controversy.
Mr Brown claimed the government was sticking to an acceptable level of debt, unlike previous British governments.
And he said stagnation from America and inflationary price rises coming out of Asia were creating a new economic cycle.
“There was an American recession, we didn’t have a recession,” Mr Brown continued, arguing that the UK had reasons to be optimistic about getting through the stormy economic waters ahead.
Asked if it was right to sell off Britain’s gold reserves, a measure he has been strongly criticised for, Mr Brown said it was the right thing to do – and it should have been done earlier.
“I don’t think the arguments about sticking to one commodity hold water,” he said.
Mr Brown said he would expand shared equity and put a higher level of funds into the housing market. Shared equity mortgages will be more attractive than fixed rate mortgages, he said.
“I was very careful about which papers I brought here today,” he joked, in reference to the photographer who snapped her confidential housing figures as she made her way to a cabinet meeting.
Asked on whether police should have responded better to the football-related violence in Manchester last night, Mr Brown said: “Last night was a disgrace.”
He said a minority was responsible for the violence, but that people had good reason to be angry about what happened. He promised to look at the laws about drinking in public places around sporting events and said he would look at matters of football violence “as a matter of urgency”.
Mr Brown was also asked if he would support Cardiff in the finals of the FA Cup. “I think it’s going to be a great match,” Mr Brown said, but he refused to say which side he would rather see win.
The prime minister was also attacked on the mixed messages coming from him and Wendy Alexander on whether there should be a referendum on Scottish independence.
He assured the room there would be no referendum on Scottish independence “now or in the immediate future” and said the Union was something to be “valued, cherished and fought for”.
“The case for the United Kingdom has got to be put,” he continued.
In foreign news, Mr Brown was pushed on his views about the gathering crisis in Lebanon. He condemned any infringement of Israel’s “security” as well as any actions by Hizbullah which put Lebanon’s security at risk. He also praised Tony Blair’s work as Middle East envoy saying it was “very important to the future”.
“Why is it powerful countries like yours” are powerless in the face of natural disasters when they are prepared to go to war, one journalist asked. Mr Brown did not answer the question. Instead he spoke about his emergency summit on Burma.
Pushed on a military intervention in Burma in order to get aid into the country Mr Brown played down such suggestions but said: “Nothing is being ruled out”. He stressed cooperation with the Burmese government was the best way to proceed and later shot down suggestions about a military intervention in a stronger way than before.
The prime minister praised the Chinese government’s earthquake response and offered his condolences to the Chinese government and those who had lost their loved ones.
Asked if he was concerned that other European leaders had been outshining him in international affairs, Mr Brown rolled off a list of Britain’s international concerns, including the Zimbabwe crisis and Burma. “Britain is leading the way,” he continued.
On other matters, Mr Brown made it clear he did not support changes to IVF treatment making it harder for lesbians to have children by asserting a right to a ‘father figure’.
He was also asked why people were so cynical about Westminster.
“The purpose of politics is to make sure people’s children have better chances than they had. It’s not about gossip and rumours,” Mr Brown answered.
Asked how much advice he receives from Tony Blair and whether that reflects his poor standing in the polls, Mr Brown told the audience he was a good friend and they talked often, but that the conversations were private.
One journalist stood up to ask the prime minister: “What do you really make of that woman, Mrs Blair?”
“I’ve enjoyed working with Mr Blair and Mrs Blair and I have nothing but praise for the work they have done for this country,” he replied.
