Dear All
There have been many moments through-out this campaign when Gordon Brown has been faced the anger of ordinary people.
Yesterday, he was slaughtered when questioned by young first-time voters.
During questioning by young people Gordon Brown lost his temper as he came under withering attack about immigration and his expenses.
Prior to this public humiliation, the Labour Party had used set piece, hand picked activists and supporters to pose as ordinary people for photo opportunities.
Now, he has faced with real voters, real young angry voters on Radio 1's Newsbeat, it is a difference story.
Through-out his interrogation Brown was repeatedly interrupted and urged to admit his mistakes.
And the anger is over problems which he deliberately created or was personally involved.
His expenses claims came in for close scrutiny as people wanted to know why he claimed £12,888 in cleaning, decoration and gardening costs.
Here is a taste of what is very much high on the agenda of people, it starts with Rachel Barr, 18 and a student at Edinburgh University and interviewer, Tulip Mazumdar.
Barr;
“Young people aren't voting at the moment. I think that's partly due to the MPs expenses scandal. They don't have much trust in politicians or in politics any more. How do you plan to engage young people in politics again?”
Brown;
”I'm shocked what some MPs did. It was a scandal. My father was a minister of the church. I was taught that honesty was the most important thing . . . I'm not in politics for what I can get out of it”.
Mazumdar;
“What about your expenses because you claimed thousands of pounds for cleaning?”
“What was going through your head when you thought it was OK for the taxpayer to pay for that?”
Brown [irritated];
“I've got to stay in two places at once. Right. And I've got my wife and my children”.
Mazumdar;
“But for your cleaning?”
Brown;
“I had a cleaner and paid her a decent wage and at that time people thought it was acceptable if you had someone to clean your house, it was an acceptable expense”.
Barr;
“[It's] insulting that we pay for your cleaning”.
Then it got worse as Brown faced an angry Siobhan Randles who lit the touch paper on one of the biggest concerns of ordinary people in Britain, immigration, she said that immigration had got 'out of control'.
Siobhan Randles demanded on nine separate occasions that Mr Brown explain why Labour had failed to introduce tougher immigration controls before he set up a points system in 2007.
At this point an angry Gordon Brown decided to revert to type and treat Ms Randles with contempt by saying in response to her;
“It's called the Australian style points system because it's used in Australia.”
That was a complete no no and a PR disaster.
Gordon Brown’s defence on immigration was;
“I don't think [we got it] wrong. We didn't misjudge it.”
This shows that Gordon Brown isn’t prepared to listen, think or take on board people’s concerns.
Miss Randles hit back;
“How do you expect us to restore our faith and trust in you when you can't admit that there's a problem?”
Brown on the back foot replied;
“I said there has been a problem and we're dealing with it by tightening up the controls on immigration.”
In the interrogation on expenses, Gordon Brown said there now exists an organisation which is completely independent of Parliament that makes decisions on MPs expenses, this is true.
But as everyone knows it is fronted by a labour placeman, Sir Iain Kennedy.
Alastair Campbell is on record as saying that Kennedy and his wife were (Labour) party people.
So, Gordon Brown has met the public and they hate him to their core and every fibre of their being.
It looks like ‘meet the public’ will be going back to stage photo ops.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
There have been many moments through-out this campaign when Gordon Brown has been faced the anger of ordinary people.
Yesterday, he was slaughtered when questioned by young first-time voters.
During questioning by young people Gordon Brown lost his temper as he came under withering attack about immigration and his expenses.
Prior to this public humiliation, the Labour Party had used set piece, hand picked activists and supporters to pose as ordinary people for photo opportunities.
Now, he has faced with real voters, real young angry voters on Radio 1's Newsbeat, it is a difference story.
Through-out his interrogation Brown was repeatedly interrupted and urged to admit his mistakes.
And the anger is over problems which he deliberately created or was personally involved.
His expenses claims came in for close scrutiny as people wanted to know why he claimed £12,888 in cleaning, decoration and gardening costs.
Here is a taste of what is very much high on the agenda of people, it starts with Rachel Barr, 18 and a student at Edinburgh University and interviewer, Tulip Mazumdar.
Barr;
“Young people aren't voting at the moment. I think that's partly due to the MPs expenses scandal. They don't have much trust in politicians or in politics any more. How do you plan to engage young people in politics again?”
Brown;
”I'm shocked what some MPs did. It was a scandal. My father was a minister of the church. I was taught that honesty was the most important thing . . . I'm not in politics for what I can get out of it”.
Mazumdar;
“What about your expenses because you claimed thousands of pounds for cleaning?”
“What was going through your head when you thought it was OK for the taxpayer to pay for that?”
Brown [irritated];
“I've got to stay in two places at once. Right. And I've got my wife and my children”.
Mazumdar;
“But for your cleaning?”
Brown;
“I had a cleaner and paid her a decent wage and at that time people thought it was acceptable if you had someone to clean your house, it was an acceptable expense”.
Barr;
“[It's] insulting that we pay for your cleaning”.
Then it got worse as Brown faced an angry Siobhan Randles who lit the touch paper on one of the biggest concerns of ordinary people in Britain, immigration, she said that immigration had got 'out of control'.
Siobhan Randles demanded on nine separate occasions that Mr Brown explain why Labour had failed to introduce tougher immigration controls before he set up a points system in 2007.
At this point an angry Gordon Brown decided to revert to type and treat Ms Randles with contempt by saying in response to her;
“It's called the Australian style points system because it's used in Australia.”
That was a complete no no and a PR disaster.
Gordon Brown’s defence on immigration was;
“I don't think [we got it] wrong. We didn't misjudge it.”
This shows that Gordon Brown isn’t prepared to listen, think or take on board people’s concerns.
Miss Randles hit back;
“How do you expect us to restore our faith and trust in you when you can't admit that there's a problem?”
Brown on the back foot replied;
“I said there has been a problem and we're dealing with it by tightening up the controls on immigration.”
In the interrogation on expenses, Gordon Brown said there now exists an organisation which is completely independent of Parliament that makes decisions on MPs expenses, this is true.
But as everyone knows it is fronted by a labour placeman, Sir Iain Kennedy.
Alastair Campbell is on record as saying that Kennedy and his wife were (Labour) party people.
So, Gordon Brown has met the public and they hate him to their core and every fibre of their being.
It looks like ‘meet the public’ will be going back to stage photo ops.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
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