Poodle Marr's interview with Gordon Brown

I have already blogged about Adam Boulton's disparaging reaction to the BBC poodle in chief's interview with Gordon Brown and included a transcript of Adam Boulton's comments. Now I have found a partial transcript of the interview:

"MARR: Right Prime Minister, let's start with what I suppose is the bleeding obvious: Are you going to call a General Election?

BROWN: I'll not be calling an Election and let me explain why: I have a vision for change in Britain and I want to show people how in Government we are implementing it.

And over the summer months we have had to deal with crisis, we have had to deal with foot-andmouth, we have had terrorism, we have had floods, we have had financial crisis - and, yes, we could have had an Election on competence and I hope people will have understood that we have acted confidently.

But what I want to do is show people the vision we have for the future of this country, in housing, in health, in education.

And I want the chance in the next phase of my premiership to develop and show people the policies that will . . . are going to make a huge difference and show the change in the country itself.

MARR: Two weeks ago when the polls looked very good for Labour you were clearly thinking about the General Election and you were moving events forward and so on and now when the polls are not good for Labour you have changed your mind.

BROWN: Well I think we would win an Election now, sooner or later and I've no doubt about that, but . . .

MARR: The polls in the marginal constituencies tomorrow and in today's papers are going to show . . .

BROWN: Yeah but . . .

MARR: . . . six points ahead for the Tories in the key marginals, three points ahead across the country . . .

BROWN: The polls go up and down, I've got no doubt we'd win an Election. I would relish the chance, obviously, to scrutinise and examine and forensically show how the Conservatives' policies would bring economic disarray to this country.

But, you know, as Prime Minister you have got a power and you have got a responsibility. Your power is that you alone make a decision about Election.

The responsibility, however, is to listen to people and to exercise that power with responsibility. So yes, I think I had a responsibility to consider it, to listen to what people were saying, to listen to what the opposition parties were saying, to listen to what people in my own party wanting an Election were saying, to listen to the public, I believe the public, the priority was not an Election but . . .

BROWN: But having made the decision I made it for the reasons I am saying. I want the chance to show the country that we have a vision for the future of this country and yes I could have a mandate or want a mandate for competence; but I want a mandate to show the vision of the country that I have is being implemented and practised.

MARR: Two weeks ago, apart from being ahead in the polls, what was the case for a General Election?

MARR: But . . .

BROWN: You've got to consider what the people put to you, as I say you have got a power as Prime Minister and all Prime Ministers have that power but you cannot exercise that power without listening to people, without considering what they have to say.

MARR: But your advisers were suggesting you went.

BROWN: Erm, there were people saying that you should go, there were people saying you shouldn't go. But you know, I made the decision for a different reason.

The decision I have made is because I want to get on with the job of change in this country and I believe I have got to show people that we are implementing the changes in practice and I believe that what we are really talking about now in Britain is the rising aspirations of British people.

They have got to be met in housing and home ownership, they have got to be met in education, they have got to be met in the health service and I want the chance to develop and show that the policies that we are developing for this will make a real difference, will make a real change in this country."


Thanks to the Mail on Sunday for the transcript.

This is not a complete transcript buut if you want to here the whole interview then you watch it in two parts at the end of this posting.


Andrew Marr lets Gordon Brown repeat his claims about a £5billion black hole in the Conservative plans without challenging him at all. The claim last week was £3.5billion black hole but I suppose we all know that the real rate of inflation in Brown's Britain is rather high. Just remember that £5billion sounds a lot but is less than 1% of Government spending. I have worked around accountants for all of my working life and if an Financial Director of a large company couldn't make a 1% saving in costs without damaging the company he would be a very poor Financial Director; I suppose the only conclusion we can draw from this is that Gordon Brown is a very bad Financial Director of Great Britain PLC.

You can read earlier criticism of Andrew Marr's poodle interviewing here, this time Andrew Marr's interview with Gordon Brown after the aborted Brownite putsch against Tony Blair.