Hazel Blears attacks “lamentable” Labour
Communities secretary Hazel Blears launched a scathing attack on the prime minister in a Sunday paper but insists Gordon Brown is still the man for the job.
“Labour ministers have a collective responsibility for the government’s lamentable failure to get our message across,” she wrote in the paper.
In the article for the Observer, Ms Blears criticised Mr Brown’s recent Youtube appearance, which was much ridiculed in the press, and the government’s handling of the Gurkha issue.
“YouTube if you want to. But it’s no substitute for knocking on doors or setting up a stall in the town centre,” she said.
Ms Blears also delivered a scathing criticism of the way the government approached the question of whether to let Gurkhas settle in Britain.
“We approached the Gurkha issue purely rationally and were mown down by a wave of emotion in support of these brave, loyal fighters,” she said.
“We put ourselves on the wrong side of the British sense of fair play, and no political party can stay there for long without dire consequences.
“So we need to plug ourselves back into people’s emotions and instincts and sound a little less ministerial and a little more human.”
Last night Ms Blears put out a statement, reinforcing her support for the prime minister.
“I want to make it clear that the Prime Minster enjoys my 100 per cent support,” she said.
“Any suggestion that I intended what I wrote as criticism of him or his leadership is completely wrong.”
The comments round off a week where the government lost a vote over the Gurkhas, and cancelled another over expenses.
