Journoblog.com

Accusations of intimidating behaviour are mounting against Gordon Brown as it is revealed that Downing Street staff have called an anti-bullying helpline.

Gordon Brown, who committed  £3.7 million towards tackling bullying this financial year, was criticized for his temper in a new book, ‘The End of the Party’.

When the book by Observer journalist Andrew Rawnsley was published, Brown’s people leapt to his defence. It has to be said that this defence has not been delivered in the strongest possible terms; quotes from Lord Mandelson include: “”He doesn’t like taking no for an answer from anyone,” and “There is a degree of impatience about the man but what do you want – a shrinking violet?”

No, we don’t want a shrinking violet, but we don’t want a man who drives his staff  to call helplines either. But that, according to Christine Pratt, head of National Bullying Helpline, is exactly what happened. She bolstered Andrew Rawnsley’s accusations by revealing that the helpline has taken several calls from Downing Street employees who say they were bullied at work.

But she also said that the helpline had received similar calls before Mr Brown moved into Number 10. Does this suggest a culture of bullying among politicians? We can only speculate at this time, but we can be sure that a lot of people will be working very hard to make sure no one decides to speak up.

After 18 months of economic shrinkage, The Labour Party have finally been given a lifeline in time for the general election. But that lifeline may be rather slippery- the last nation in the European Union to escape recession has done so by just 0.1 percent.

This figure is significant as far as politics is concerned, but is unlikely to affect the lives of those struggling to find work or battling to keep businesses afloat.

Gordon Brown will, of course, be keen to tell the tale about the way he steered Britain through its darkest hour. He will also avoid discussing his role in turning out the lights in the first place. Similarly, Alistair Darling will claim a victory for his financial acumen, as he correctly predicted the quarter in which we would emerge from the recession that went on far too long.

But before anyone pulls the string on their party popper, it’s important to remember that the British economy barely has its nostrils above the water; a small ripple will result in more coughing and spluttering. Sterling has dropped against the US dollar and the Euro, the housing market is still poor and unemployment is causing grief for as many families as ever.

Meanwhile, the opposite parties will be planning on inflating these issues until they burst. Come the election, the subject of the economy will be such a jumble of exaggeration and understatements in the House of Commons that the normal people trying to look after their families will struggle to keep track of what’s really going on.

I hope the public manage to continue along the course of action that’s always been the wisest- take the words of the politicians with a fistful of salt and think for themselves.

You can’t survive without The Sun, and you can’t escape its gravity. It’s big news, everyone’s talking about it, and why not? After all, The Sun’s chosen allegiance does seem to dictate the future of the Government.

But let’s be honest for a moment, does The Sun’s shift spell the end for Labour? Let me try to answer that by posing another question: Who, before this landmark event, thought that Labour had the remotest chance of winning the next general election? Anyone?

This is a pretty obvious case of switching teams according to whoever sits at the top of the league. Once again, The Sun will be able to claim that they were the influence; that Labour dominated for fifteen years while The Sun held their hand, but they sank as soon as they lost the support of Britain’s favourite rag.

Well I have a bigger claim: Every year, I decide to support a Formula 1 driver. Every year, my chosen driver wins the championship. This has never failed! Honestly, my influence is undeniable; whichever driver gains my backing is victorious. I simply wait until the last corner of the last lap of the last race of the season before deciding who to cheer for.

I can’t help wondering why The Sun waiting for so long before changing beds. They give Labour’s failures as the reason for abandoning them, even including an actual poster entitled “DOSSIER OF THEIR FAILURES”. Why on Earth would a paper shout about the fact that they’ve been supporting a spectacularly failing political party for so long? It makes them look a bit silly to me.

By the way, it might be worth mentioning that there’s water on our Moon. I know; it’s easy to overlook something as scientifically and historically insignificant as the discovery of life’s most essential substance on the only celestial body to bear human footprints. We could even be forgiven for neglecting to spare a thought for the years of scientific research bound to result from this at a time when a newspaper has decided to change teams for a few years. In case anyone is interested, I suppose I’ll sheepishly put forth the fact that this discovery has been made right when China and India are getting stuck into the whole space race thing, the glory on offer further accelerating progress in this area and giving space travel the dose of nitrogen tetroxide that it has needed for years.

Oh, and on the subject of scientific research, the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva is scheduled to be fired up again in about six weeks. If it doesn’t break this time, The Sun may turn away from David Cameron and become a supporter of Higgs Boson in time for the election.