Brown sets out to prove his bottle
Gordon Brown will go on the offensive today as he attempts to regain his authority after the mishandling of the election campaign that never was.
The Conservatives have taunted Mr Brown for “bottling it” after opinion polls killed Labour’s lead. The charge has been quickly taken up by the media, handing the prime minister his worst headlines since taking office.
Mr Brown will today face the media in an earlier than planned press conference at Downing Street. He will then give a Commons statement on Iraq at 3.30pm before meeting with Labour MPs this evening.
It remains credible Mr Brown was never seriously tempted to hold a snap election this autumn, but he has been criticised nevertheless for allowing aides to talk up an election until the last minute.
Mr Brown rejected several offers to firmly quash election fever, sidestepping instead to claim he was focused on “getting on with the job”.
It is understood several of Mr Brown’s key aides, notably Douglas Alexander, Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and political adviser Spencer Livermore, were keen on an early poll.
However, it is thought they were finally dissuaded when polling data from the marginals suggested Labour risked losing their majority.
The Times reports Mr Brown began to have doubts over his handling of the non-campaign after the negative reaction to his trip to Iraq last week.
Labour insiders were also rattled when the election speculation succeeded in uniting the Conservatives during their conference, rather than forcing them onto the defensive.
A flurry of other preparations last week also continued expectation an election announcement was imminent. As this coincided with poor poll results for Labour, the prime minister’s eventual statement was seen as a humiliating climb down.
Jack Straw today insisted the decision has not damaged Mr Brown.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he said: “We’ve had discombobulation in politics, but this is low on the Richter scale and it will pass.”
The justice secretary admitted the opinion polls were “one of the factors” in the eventual decision, but insisted Labour would have gone on to win an election despite the volatile polls.
Mr Brown has been widely criticised by opposition politicians for focusing on Labour’s election chances rather than running the country.
Jacqui Smith defended her boss, insisting the decision had been taken “in the best interests of the country”.
She told Sky News Mr Brown also went with what is best for Britain when faced with tough decisions.
David Cameron said it was “quite clear” Mr Brown has not been focused on running the country and had instead been trying to spin his way into a general election.
The Tory leader said: “everybody knows he is not having an election because there’s a danger of him losing it.
“The reason the prime minister has cancelled this election is that the Conservative party is making the arguments about the changes this country needs. People are responding very positively to our proposals.”
Menzies Campbell said Mr Brown had been acting out a “charade” in the interests of his party and not the nation.
The prime minister had reverted to the “worst of Blairism,” the Lib Dem leader said.
