Brown’s Pointless Victory

It’s a measure of Gordon Brown’s weakness that he’s come so close to losing the vote on 42 Days. But, as Ben Brogan reports, he’s done it:

The DUP are on board, Diane Abbott has been spoken to by Gordon Brown for the first time in 20 years, cash for sick miners and help for Cuba has been whistled out of nowhere, and so the vote is won. I spoke to David Davis earlier, who knows a thing or two about whipping and numbers. The 54 Labour rebels he knew about on Friday were down to 44 last night, and the DUP will support Mr Brown. At that rate the game is up.

But what use is this shabby triumph? The DUP and other rebels have been bribed and everyone knows that the government has retreated in a shambles, all order and discipline lost. They made it home eventually but it was a damn close run thing.