Troubling days for the Labour Govt

It has been a troubling week for the Labour Party this week.

Just as the memories of having lost the data of a third of the UK population were beginning to fade from the media spotlight, and along came another disaster.

It emerged that the Labour Party had received loans from donors who had given money through intermediatories. This in itself was illegal, but as further details were reported, it became clear it was far more serious.

Dodgy loans as they have come to be called has dogged Mr Brown who himself is looking particularly haggared. During PMQs on Wednesday, the Prime Minister was the subject of ridicule after the Liberal Democrat Vince Cable described the leader as have gone “from Stalin to Mr Bean in a matter of weeks”. The previous week in Parliament, David Cameron told the PM to “Get a grip”. But now Gordon Brown’s grip on his party looks tenuous.

As the Prime Minister attempted to deflect the barage of criticism he insisted he had followed correct procedure. Attempting to shift responsibilty from himself, he said, “The electoral commision will decide if it is a matter for the police.”
And within hours it was and the police were once more about to knock at the door of number 10.

And the only debate in the weeks media was Labour’s catastrophic series of bungles. From Northern Rock, Foot & Mouth leaks from government laboratories, lost CDs and illegal funding the Labour Party is now beginning to look corrupt and incompetent.

Speaking on BBC’s This Week the Labour MP Diane Abbot described the situation as being like “Sewage bubbling up under the door” and a hangover from “the Blair era”. But whilst Mr Brown may not be directly implicated in the latest fiasco, he is taking a great deal of flack from all sides.

Victim of circumstance or does the series of catastrophes befalling the current government show signs of a gradual disintigration of failed government policy.

Caroline Flint MP talking on Question Time said, “of course it doesn’t look great, but we need to have an enquiry and find out what happened and when”.

But many members of the public are incredulous of the Labour government and its leader. “He wasn’t that good a chancellor and he’s lost it. He should go” said one member of the audience of the BBC debate show.

Public Opinion polls also show labour’s lead to have fallen after the recent crises. It remains to be seen whether the party and Gordon Brown will recover before any future election.