Confidence in confidence alone … “We’re All Right!”

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• Steve Richards’ eminently sensible thoughts on the Green affair c/w the Honours (shameful) investigation. To him they prove the opposite of a Police State. More, I suppose, a cocked-up state.
• “Pay” back time for Martin as Police say they DID warn the Serjeant-at-Arms

Comment at end

4th December, 2008

[Pics, left to right: Michael Martin, Speaker House of Commons; Harriet Harman, Leader of the House; Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary with Gordon Brown; John Reid, former Home Secretary with Tony Blair;

Michael Martin, Speaker with Jill Pay, Serjeant-At-Arms yesterday at Opening of Parliament]

I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN ME

Click the video to listen, while you read the rest (you’ll need to click on the pause button if you want to listen to the “We’re all Right” video below)

HARMAN – CONFIDENCE IN THE SPEAKER?

Harriet Harman, the Leader of the House, wasn’t all that confident in her confidence in the Speaker in her Newsnight interview. After all the brouhaha over the Green affair, the Police, Jill Pay the Serjeant-At-Arms and the speaker’s statement yesterday in parliament, it wasn’t surprising she wasn’t quite sure what to say.  Watch her here.

But, to coin a Neil Kinnock phrase from 1992 -  ‘we’re all right‘. Watch the Kinnock “faux pas” here.

Tonight the Prime Minister has declared HIS FULL confidence in the Speaker Mr Michael Martin.

SMITH – CONFIDENCE IN THE POLICE?

Watch Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, defending the police operation into the Damian Green ‘whistleblower’ affair saying that the leaks he received “struck at the heart of Government.”

I was about to write that this lack of stated support bode well for the Speaker. After all, how many times have we heard politicians bestowing full confidence in colleagues to find the supported one out on their ear the next day?

Oh, sorry, that was the Tory tactic. Well … until now. Until Mr Brown said that he HAS confidence in Mr Martin.

BROWN – CONFIDENCE IN THE SPEAKER?

“I’ve got a great deal of confidence in the speaker. He does a very difficult job and does it to the best of his ability.”

So it’s goodbye to him, then …

REID – CONFIDENCE IN THE HOME SECRETARY?

BLAIRITE JOHN REID, THE PREVIOUS HOME SECRETARY, STIRS IT FOR HIS SUCCESSOR

'Smile, John ... come on! Pretend you're happy we're leaving.' MANCHESTER, UK, SEPTEMBER 28 2006: Britain's Home Secretary John Reid (R) accepts the audience's applause as Prime Minister Tony Blair claps after Reid delivered his speech at the Labour Party Autumn Conference at the GMEX centre. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

John Reid, the former Home Secretary said:

“I am surprised, to say the least, that she [Ms Smith] wasn’t informed that her opposite number was about to be arrested. I cannot think … that I would have remained as placid as she has”.

If I were a conspiracy theorist I’d be theorising away …

CONTAGIOUS CONFIDENCE?

Meanwhile the rest of us have confidence in the chancellor … er …  prime minister … to help us to pay lower mortgages, buy the Christmas presents, and generally keep the economy going by spend, spend, spending for Britain.

Don’t we?

I think I can confidently say I’m not sure.

This Liberal Democrat blogger thinks Mr Galley may be “a bit of an idiot”

KINNOCK – “WE’RE ALL RIGHT” VIDEO WHICH MOST BELIEVE LOST HIM THE 1992 GENERAL ELECTION

1992 – Sheffield Rally – (1m 40s into video) – Neil Kinnock repeats “We’re All Right” -  and throws the general election away

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OTHER NEWS ITEMS

Food and journalists, not necessarily in that order, allowed into Gaza. “Glimmer of hope” says UN Food Agency representative. More rockets and mortars were still fired today at the Israelis even as they opened the border.

Remove Mugabe calls including Kenya’s Prime Minister Odinga: “Time for African countries to remove Mugabe”.

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Tags: 1. Tony Blair, Brown (Gordon Brown & his Labour Government, from June 2007), confidence, harriet harman, Jacqui Smith, jill pay, john reid, michael martin, parliament, serjeant-at-arms, speaker house of commons