Friday marks the end of Gordon Brown’s first year as Prime Minister. Labour won’t be marking the occasion, but the Tories will which rather tells you what you need to know about how it has gone.
The Times reports that Brown is planning an autumn reshuffle and hopes that unveiling an economic plan will help him regain the initiative. But it is hard to imagine this turning thing round as the voters seem to have made their minds up about Brown. As Peter Riddell writes this morning:
But the two key turning points are linked with mistakes by Mr Brown himself: the botched election decision and the 10p tax fiasco. Voters sense this: according to the Populus leader index (on a 0 to 10 scale) Mr Brown’s rating has fallen since last July from 5.49 to 3.9. David Cameron’s rating has risen from 4.81 to 5.25. Voters have made up their minds about Mr Brown – and such an adverse verdict will be very hard to reverse.
Indeed, there is reason to think that another flurry of activity from Downing Street could make things worse.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in