HANDLING THE PRESSURE

by RAY FLEMING
A PATHETIC figure. Humiliating climbdown. Massive loss of authority.
And, of course, Dithering. David Cameron's characterisation of Gordon Brown and his U-turn on the 10p tax at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday pulled out all the usual stops. It's true that Mr Cameron is entitled to exploit the Prime Minister's discomfiture - indeed it is his job - but it would have more effect if he did not attack in the same aggressive and dismissive way every week, regardless of the importance of the topic. As Mr Brown said yesterday, the Conservatives are hardly able to pose as champions of the poor and even if the prime minister did misjudge the overall effect of the 10p tax he has an unparalleled record as a committed anti-poverty campaigner. There are few prime ministers who do not have to endure rough passages and make U-turns. Harold Wilson, Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair all had periods early in their premierships when their occupancy of Downing Street seemed uncertain. Handling such pressures, especially if they involve dissension among one's own MPs, is a fundamental requirement of a prime minister and Mr Brown's willingnesss to respond to what Frank Field and others have been saying shows that he possesses this attribute. Incidentally, I think the prime minister must have a new scriptwriter. David Cameron often has the best lines but I liked Mr Brown's riposte yesterday: “We are for opportunity for everyone. They are for opportunism in everything.”