Following the recent jumping of ship by The SUN over to the Conservatives a behind the scenes video from within Brown’s bunker has been leaked to Parlez~me~’n~Tory by my man on the inside (Agent Roger).
This morning the PM announced that he was officially agreeing to a series of televised debates in the run up to the General Election.
That’s great, if that’s what he is actually saying but if he isn’t then just what is he getting out of this?
BBC’s Nick Robinson has already stated that the reason the PM is up for this is that the Labour Party is so strapped for cash that this is seen as a no publicity is bad publicity move.
This morning over on LabourLost.org I blogged about the possible breach of the DPA within the open letter and the way in which it appears to be missing something at the end.
Whilst the full text can be viewed here, my point in this blog post are the following paragraphs and I shall attempt to elaborate
It is right that we set the issues before the British people. Others can work out the details but what’s important for the country is that there is a wide ranging series of television and radio debates with party leaders that are also able to devote attention to the central issues that matter to families: the economy, public services, how we strengthen our communities, and how we work with the rest of the world.
It is right that there will be a strong focus on the leaders’ debates and it is right that in a Cabinet system of government that ministers and opposition ministers also debate the issues in a series of debates on television and radio too.
I relish the opportunity of making our case directly to the people of this country.
The first line worries me in relation to my LabourLost blog post with the truncated sentence (mentioned above) [It is right that we set the issues before the British people].
When Brown uses the word ‘before’ are we to take this as meaning ‘in front of’ or ‘prior to’? If ‘prior to’ then why ask for questions to be submitted? If ‘in front of’ then why not complete the very last sentence of the page which currently leads to suspicion that any submitted suggestion would be subject to editing. Currently this final sentence reads as: [The Labour Party and its elected representatives may use the data you have supplied] there is no punctuation or further wording at this point.
The next set of carefully chosen words are [a wide ranging series of television and radio debates with party leaders] no matter how you read that you’re wrong.
This statement in no way, shape or form implies or infers that the PM has any intention himself of participating in a televised debate with other mainstream Party leaders present at the same time.
The following words [It is right that there will be a strong focus on the leaders’ debates] lead people to automatically conclude that the PM is referring to the 3 debates that have been touted, when in fact this wording could be taken to mean one debate per leader to a specific audience.
Finally, the wording that to me sums up that the PM will not participate with either David Cameron or Nick Clegg is [I relish the opportunity of making our case directly to the people of this country], as previously mentioned this seems to backup my view that the PM is angling towards 1 leader 1 debate to a specific audience. Whilst initially it may seem that the PM is opening up to the public and other leaders he is not.
If the PM truly intended to debate with other leaders present this final sentence would read something akin to [I relish the opportunity of making the Labour Party's case directly to the people of this country and in front of the leaders of the opposition Parties.]
How I wish to be proved wrong but after the previous debates over how long a manifesto promise should stand I have a problem with believing anything that comes out of Downing St.
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This week saw Corporal Michael Lockett, 29, the most highly decorated British soldier to die in the battle against the Taliban flown back to RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire, and a fly-past was staged before a private ceremony for his family.
Corporal Lockett, a father of three, was the first holder of the Military Cross to be killed in the war and had recently received the honour from the Queen for his ‘absolutely exceptional leadership and supreme courage’ in a clash with the Taliban in Helmand.
This picture was taken of 1 Platoon in 2007 now 2 years later it is wise to see where the individuals are:
1 Platoon (2007) click to enlarge
1 Michael Lockett. Then aged 27, from Angus. Vowed never to leave any of his men behind on the battlefield and did not. The body of colleague Private Botha was recovered from the Taliban and other wounded British soldiers saved. Promoted to sergeant. Received his MC from the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Killed on September 21.
2 Private ‘Ginge’ Jones. Territorial Army soldier from Hastings, East Sussex. Now studying military history at university.
3 Corporal Ben Umney, 25. A section commander from Chesterfield. During an ambush, a bullet pierced his helmet but not his skull, stunning him. Has just left the Army after 11 years service. Now runs his own plumbing business.
4 Corporal Lee ‘Al’ Hodson from Worcester. On active service again in Helmand.
5 Private Matthew Farr from the West Midlands. Promoted to lance corporal. Returned to active service in Helmand.
6 Lance Corporal Jonathan McEwan, 27, from Retford, Nottinghamshire. On active service again in Helmand.
7 Christopher Bell, 20, from Redditch. Left the Army last year.
8 Lance Corporal Lee Weston. Shot and wounded in the shoulder during the night ambush. Has now left the Army and is a qualified mechanic.
9 Lance Corporal Wayne Russen, 24, from Redditch. Avoided the ambush, having been injured in an attack a few days before. Has since left the Army and is looking for work.
10 Private Kyle Drury, 22. Temporarily blinded by phosphorous during ambush and shot in chest, but was saved by his body armour as bullets deflected off his radio. Since promoted to lance corporal and still in the Army.
11 Private ‘Trout’ Stout, 20, from Nottingham. On active service again in Helmand.
12 Private Latham, 20, from Nottingham. Since promoted to lance corporal. Back on the Helmand frontline.
13 Private Luke Cole, 24, from Wolverhampton. Territorial Army reservist. Shot and wounded in initial ambush, but refused morphine treatment and continued to fire at Taliban and tend to even more seriously hurt colleague Private Cooper.
Shot again, through hip and stomach, before being evacuated several hours later. Awarded the Military Cross for his bravery. Permanently disabled by leg wound, he has spent time in a wheelchair and can no longer run. Unable to return to his former job of fork-lift truck engineer.
Currently retraining at specialist college for the disabled.
14 Private Sam Cooper, 18, from Chesterfield. Youngest soldier in regiment. Shot in head and suffered brain damage in the ambush, which affects his speech and one side of his body. Treated at Headley Court rehabilitation centre.
15 Private Daniel Hammer, 19, from the West Midlands. On active service again in Helmand.
16 Lieutenant Simon Cupples, 25, from Chesterfield. Officer in command of the platoon during ambush. At times, was less than 20 metres from Taliban lines as he fought to remove his men from the ‘killing zone’.
Awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, second only to the Victoria Cross. Now promoted to Captain and second in command of A (Grenadier) Company, 2 Mercians.
17 Privater Ben Johnson, 23. Temporarily blinded by phosphorus during the night ambush. Still serving. Has been on active service again in Helmand.
18 Private Matthew Carling, 21, from Derby. Left the Army last year.
19 Private ‘Dunc’ Dunkley, from Nottingham. No longer in the Army.
Whilst it seems the Government is content to treat our Forces with contempt and will forget their sacrifice the British public never will.
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