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Mealy Mouthed Caroline Flint Quits Browns Government, Statement

Politics / UK Politics Jun 05, 2009 - 11:34 AM GMT

By: Nadeem_Walayat

The reason why voters view MP's as being mealy mouthed, full of self interest with little real interest in doing what is best for those that elected them was made clear by Caroline Flints behaviour (Minister for Europe) and statements over the past 24 hours where comments of support for Gordon Brown a little over 12 hours ago were replaced by a vicious attack on Gordon Browns Premiership after she failed to get her way in terms of promotion within the cabinet.

Compare the two statements:

Last Night

"I am a hard-working minster who has got on with my job. I am staying in the Government.

"I have spent my entire ministerial career for six years now serving Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and I am very proud to be in a Labour Government and very proud to be part of Gordon Brown's Government."

This afternoon, after Gordon Brown chose not to promote her.

Dear Gordon

I believe the achievements of the Labour Government to date have been monumental and you have played an immense part in the creation of those achievements.

However, I am extremely disappointed at your failure to have an inclusive Government.

You have a two tier Government.  Your inner circle and then the remainder of Cabinet. 

 I have the greatest respect for the women who have served as full members of Cabinet and for those who attend as and when required.  However, few are allowed into your inner circle.  Several of the women attending Cabinet – myself included – have been treated by you as little more than female window dressing.  I am not willing to attend Cabinet in a peripheral capacity any longer.

In my current role, you advised that I would attend Cabinet when Europe was on the agenda.  I have only been invited once since October and not to a single political Cabinet - not even the one held a few weeks before the European elections. 

 Having worked hard during this campaign, I would not have been party to any plan to undermine you or the Labour Party in the run up to 4 June.   So I was extremely angry and disappointed to see newspapers briefed with invented stories of my involvement in a “Pugin Room plot.” 

 Time and time again I have stepped before the cameras to sincerely defend your reputation in the interests of the Labour Party and the Government as a whole.  I am a natural party loyalist.  Yet you have strained every sinew of that loyalty.

It has been apparent for some time that you do not see me playing a more influential role in the Government.  Therefore, I have respectfully declined your offer to continue in the Government as Minister for attending Cabinet.

I served six years as a backbencher and, therefore, I am not unhappy to be able to devote myself to promoting my constituency’s interests and to support the Labour Government from the backbenches.

This is a personal decision, which I have not discussed with colleagues. 

Yours

Rt Hon Caroline Flint MP

Gordon Brown is fast running out of MP's as he drags back Baroness Glenys Kinnock  into his government, and promotes Lord Mandelson to the Minister of everything in an attempt to survive cabinet resignations. Offcourse this raises the problem that Gordon Browns government is now full of un-elected Lords and Barons and thus is now even further removed from the elecotrate.

UK Election Forecast

My recent analysis of the economy shows that the Labour governments policies are likely to ignite an strong economy recovery into Mid 2010, i.e. for the May 2010 general election and therefore if Labour can continue to delay the election until May 2010 then their poll prospects are much improved with my forecast of 225 seats, against current projections of 140, and Labours current tally of 356 MP's

By Nadeem Walayat
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk

Copyright © 2005-09 Marketoracle.co.uk (Market Oracle Ltd). All rights reserved.

Nadeem Walayat has over 20 years experience of trading derivatives, portfolio management and analysing the financial markets, including one of few who both anticipated and Beat the 1987 Crash. Nadeem's forward looking analysis specialises on the housing market and interest rates. Nadeem is the Editor of The Market Oracle, a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. We present in-depth analysis from over 250 experienced analysts on a range of views of the probable direction of the financial markets. Thus enabling our readers to arrive at an informed opinion on future market direction. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk

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Comments

Nick 05 Jun 09, 13:01	Election Nick Clegg was right. The only real choice the people have is between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
Judie 05 Jun 09, 13:17	Flint Gosh I just thought these people were self-serving and ignorant, now they have no self-control either! This is all hilarious. Could these people be any less professional?
James 05 Jun 09, 13:38	Madam Flint Madam,you had better have a good look at a mirror,you might come to the same conclusion that I have come to,that you, are not "Female window dressing" material.
AI 05 Jun 09, 14:01	career politicians Ms Fllint represents the core problem wiith modern career politicians - expectation that party loyalty is all that is required for promotion. Is ability not relevant? It is likely that Labour's Euro election results will be an awful, on Ms Flint's watch as Europe Minister.
Obliques 05 Jun 09, 14:10	flint I tend to agree with the comments above: the loss of these appallingly self-serving and self-indulgent careerists actually makes a Brown-led government far more attractive to me than it was a week ago. Extraordinarily, Flint's recent behaviour has made Blear's brooch only the second most repulsive Westminster spectacle of the week. It is perhaps her greatest achievement.
Janissary 05 Jun 09, 14:18	Scum labour Rebels So Brown has tested her loyalty by not giving her a promotion?!? Wow, when I thought venality couldn't reach new depths, a Blair babe arrives. I never would have thought it but Flint's behaviour (like Blears') ACTUALLY makes me sympathetic to Gordon Brown. I really don't know what these idiots are thinking (with Blears she should be de-selected and Brown condemning her behaviour was one of the few things he did that the public agreed with). Without Miliband or Johnson who exactly will challenge Brown?!? You need a challenger to depsoe a leader. Is Purnell SERIOUSLY meant to be their idea of a Prime Minister? A 39 year old apparatchik who has never had a real job (in politics and public affairs his whoel life)? Prezza, bless him, had it right when he said Purnell is a careerite. The country needs either an election or for the government to do its best until the due election next year - not the indulgence of another Labour coronation or internal election, to provide the third PM unelected since WW2 (the first was Douglas-Home and the secodn Brown - so much for democracy in the eyes of Labour). I don't support Labour, don't support Brown and want him out but seriously, these rebels are so scummy and selfish I honestly feel sorry for him and, assuming Labour would never have an early general election, would rather have Brown than this mob.
Sims 05 Jun 09, 18:42	flint Caroline Flint must be watched like a hawk and everything possible done to discourage her ambitions, together with her alleged cronie Richard Caborn she has done much damage to credibility and the countryside!
Mr D 05 Jun 09, 18:43	immature MP's No wonder our country is in such a sorry state when all we have self interested immature people like this in charge. Just go, shut up and don't think this will deflect from the fact or that we will forget or the acts of fraud that you will be bought to account for.