Breaking News … Gordon Brown will announce on Tuesday morning that the general election will, as expected, be held on 6 May.

“Draconian police powers designed to deprive crime barons of luxury lifestyles are being extended to councils, quangos and agencies to use against the public.” according to this times article.

“The right to search homes, seize cash, freeze bank accounts and confiscate property will be given to town hall officials and civilian investigators employed by organisations as diverse as Royal Mail, the Rural Payments Agency and Transport for London.”

Labour are using a statutory instrument to bring this Al Capone law into force so that parliament is denied a chance to debate it. Even the chairman of the Police Federation was shocked to learn of the powers now being given to (amongst others) the Royal Mail, Transport for London and your local council.

Have Labour lost the plot … we think so!

Henry Gewanter, the MD of Positive Profile, was more used to the relatively mundane world of the City PR when he agreed to broker the disks of data of MPs expenses on behalf of the whistleblowers, instantly becoming one himself. Even he did not imagine the scale of the storm it created. Six months on, Steve McDowell asked him what else is to come and what is the legacy of his action…

This guest post has been contributed by Julian Bray who writes on his Duckhouse blog.  Over to you Julian.

Gordon Brown to step down for ‘medical’ reasons in January 2010?

“Yesterday [Friday 10 October 2009] Mr Brown visited Moorfields Hospital as part of regular checks on his eye and this check was also fine. Mr Brown wants to thank the doctors and staff of the NHS, particularly Moorfields Hospital. Were there to be any change, he would of course make a further statement.”

10 Downing Street claimed the details had been released “in the interests of transparency”, and the hapless spokesman went on to claim “there was no question of “regular” updates on the Prime Ministers ‘ continuing medical condition.” A really brassed-neck attempt to draw a line under current speculation. However, the approach could make it more difficult to hold back information about Mr Brown ’s health and general well-being in future.

Contrary to media reports and claims by some commentators who should know better. I first raised questions over Gordon Browns medical condition, a few years ago when he was still at the Treasury, initially prompted by a long drawn out televised Budget Speech which for some reason, the cameras repeatedly focused on the state of Gordon Browns fingers and thumbs; all his nails were badly bitten right down to the quick, perhaps not bitten but ripped out would be more accurate.

Nailbiting in adults is generally accepted as a clear sign of chronic stress, not just habit. In the same Budget Speech live Telecast, Brown had sat down and the Leader of the Opposition was just rising to his feet to reply. Again a candid cutaway, showed Brown having a furtive nail nibble whilst listening to an over the shoulder comment from Tony Blair, seated alongside him.

The PM has been repeatedly quizzed during interviews over his medical condition and his eyesight ( ‘telly-land ‘ increasingly reliant upon the bloggers for breaking news and scandal), BBC ’s Andrew Marr Show last month, (the video being included in  ’Duckhouse Blog ‘). During the MARR interview Mr Brown reluctantly denied mounting speculation that he was becoming increasingly dependent on prescription painkillers. This should be an easy matter to resolve by a simple regular Urine test or releasing Gordon Browns medical records and a comprehensive list of all OTC (Over the counter), prescription and other drugs, he and Sarah Brown may have access to.

Some so far unconfirmed media reports had suggested Mr Brown might use concerns about his health as a legitimate and dignified reason for stepping down as Prime Minister ahead of the election. New concerns about tears to the retina in his one remaining eye – Brown lost his other eye as the result of an injury, whist playing Rugby as a teenager.

Quoted on the Internet, Som Prasad, a consultant ophthalmologist at Arrow Park Hospital on Merseyside, Northern England, said that although Mr Brown may not undergo more surgery on his retina, other less drastic surgical procedures could be on the cards.

Tears to the retina can be heat-sealed by directing a laser beam of light through the pupil of the eye to produce a scar which seals the tear. An alternative would be cryotherapy treatment, where a freezing treatment is applied by a pen-shaped probe to the outside of the eye. But if the retina becomes detached – as has happened to Mr Brown twice before – “more complicated operations” may also be needed to prevent the loss of sight.

Candidly  ’friends ‘ of Gordon Brown have been sugesting January 2010 would be a very good time for Gordon Brown to withdraw from politics and retire with dignity. That the door has been left wide open he could easily cite  ’medical reasons ‘. Fighting a long and protracted war in Afghanistan (Brown admits to not understanding the ritualistic ways of the Military), constant  ’head on ‘ rows with the Forces and now a possible formal written demand, that following the MP expenses scandal, Gordon Brown might be required to pay some of the money claimed as expenses over the last five years, back to the Treasury. Will any payment will include his subscription to Sky Sports satellite premium TV channels then?

Rats leaving a sinking ship? Just political tactics then? You can decide in May 2010 at the General Election

About Julian:  Julian Bray is a broadcaster, moderator, speaker, journalist and lectures on leadership, company turnarounds, corporate and recession busting strategies, politics, aviation, travel and The City.

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Adam Boulton’s interview of Gordon Brown this morning has sparked debate – ironically not for its content, but its delivery. The Evening Standard said the PM “lost his cool”, but what do you think?

ChiefWhip note: Gordon, a UOR (Urgent Operational Requirement) is dramatically different from normal scaling, Adam Boulton is quite right here.

After 12 years of support, the Sun drops support for Labour

In 1997 Britain had lost its way. Government had become stale and was bereft of fresh ideas. The country was ready to take a chance on somebody different and that somebody was Tony Blair MP.

It was the freshness, the vigour, the enthusiasm that he exuded which led to the hope and faith in him by the British electorate.

It has often been claimed that It was the SUN what won it! back in 1997.

But 12 long years on and that vigour, enthusiasm and freshness has deserted the Labour Party leaving them an empty shell of their once reformed self.

Well, with the advent of today’s headline and the accompanying endorsement of David Cameron’s Conservative Party a full 8 months before the General Election one can only conclude that The SUN is once again on the RIGHT side.

One can’t help feeling though that with that headline they had a sneak preview of our campaign 24hrs prior to launch.

The Prime Minister’s speech at the party conference.

An interesting piece in the Guardian from data compiled by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showing where all our money actually goes.

Worryingly it helps show the vast amount of money that was poured in to save the banking system from collapse and I urge anyone contemplating what all the parties are saying on expenditure and cuts for the future to spend some time perusing the data on what the realities of our country’s finances currently are.

Download the PDF here

Sadly Labour lost their credibility a long time ago, and things are now so bad that when we are presented with the following contradictory statements;

A) “For the record, as I have said previously, I was shown all relevant documents — a P45, National Insurance details, a marriage certificate, a letter from the Home Office, references and a passport — by Ms Tapui during her job interviews,”

B) “The thing is I know that it’s not true that I produced a passport and a letter from the Home Office saying I was entitled to work.  She didn’t ask for a passport or a letter”

We are more inclined to believe an illegal immigrant represented by Max Clifford rather than the Attorney General of the United Kingdom.

How did such a sorry state of affairs ever come to pass?

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that for years, said Baroness has been claiming allowances for living outside of London, despite declaring Chiswick (which when I last looked was most definitely still in London) as her main residence.  The result is a tidy 170,000 pounds, a sum that the cabinet office says she was not entitled to.

Whatever the ultimate rights and wrongs that one would hope will be fully investigated, the reality is that we the public are left with great doubt as to whom to trust, and trust is the foundation of government.