Labour bloodied and browned

Brown is in pickles. His trip to the studios, ripping off Blair's "feel my pain" tour, has proved the start of dissent and sedition. Labour MPs in marginal seats must have witnessed the bizarre faux toupee, the distance between Brown's utterances and reality; the sheer inability of the Prime Minister to grasp their fear or take steps to avoid further meltdown.

Richard Littlejohn on "Question Time" said all that most people wanted to hear: give us a break. Instead, the only move to alleviate the plight of workers feeling the pinch is a promise not to implement the bin tax (a sin tax to encourage recycling):

"The real me is someone who understands at root all the challenges that   ordinary families face," he said.

"Pay-as-you-throw" schemes, due to be tested later this year, could   see families charged £50 a year for rubbish disposal, on top of council tax.   Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, believes it will encourage recycling.

Mr Brown also hinted yesterday at another populist move – scrapping a 2p rise   in fuel duty in the autumn. However, aides later insisted that the final   decision was months away.

Here is the summation of Brown's failure. When your taxes are lowering your income, you will blame the government. Promising not to introduce more taxes is a populist move for Brown; it will not  garner him support as the damage is done. He has taken away with his left hand and passed over some tax credit forms with his right.

With a raft of new obstacles providing the potential for further damage, Brown will struggle to retain any authority in his party. He is now at the mercy of events and the Left. The socialists smell blood, and they will argue for radical measures which will worsen economy and state.