Gordon Brown is the Grand Old Duke of York. He marches himself up to the top of the hill and looks back down to see that his troops have refused to follow. Then he marches back down. Labour backbench MPs find that they have more power with a weak Prime Minister than they would with any replacement. Is it feasible that they will continue to favour a position of influence under this present government (where their revolts are held)?
The latest revolt has arisen over the increases in vehicle excise duty and petrol taxes. These have been dubbed a 'poll tax on wheels' as motorists, squeezed by increased living costs, face another expense. The government is now considering a review, cloaked by compromise, between their greenwashing and the piratical attempt to seize more taxes.
In the longer term, Gordon Brown is taking a series of blows due to previous decisions agreed by himself or his Chancellor. As the appetite for tax increases has clearly come to an end, we must look carefully at his next move. This will spell out the Prime Minister's potential for flexibility. So far, there has been no policy that could not have not ben implemented by a cautious Blair.
The question arises: a man who has been grooming himself for power over fifteen years, and who believes he has a mission to transform the kingdoms; a man who has the power, an enabling act, to do away with Parliament; a man, who may be psychologically flawed.
The latest revolt has arisen over the increases in vehicle excise duty and petrol taxes. These have been dubbed a 'poll tax on wheels' as motorists, squeezed by increased living costs, face another expense. The government is now considering a review, cloaked by compromise, between their greenwashing and the piratical attempt to seize more taxes.
In the longer term, Gordon Brown is taking a series of blows due to previous decisions agreed by himself or his Chancellor. As the appetite for tax increases has clearly come to an end, we must look carefully at his next move. This will spell out the Prime Minister's potential for flexibility. So far, there has been no policy that could not have not ben implemented by a cautious Blair.
The question arises: a man who has been grooming himself for power over fifteen years, and who believes he has a mission to transform the kingdoms; a man who has the power, an enabling act, to do away with Parliament; a man, who may be psychologically flawed.