NLP and the News

6.   Gordon Brown - Trapped!
       How the British Prime Minister was Caught by a
       Double Bind.

If you've ever wondered how a real life 'double bind' might work - read on:

Dateline: Thursday, January 7th, 2010.
Two ex-members of the New Labour cabinet * have written to their fellow New Labour MPs (members of parliament) suggesting that a secret ballot should be held within the Parliamentary Party (i.e. New Labour MPs only) to decide whether Gordon Brown was indeed the best person to lead the party into the next general election (due to take place sometime in the summer of 2010).

The suggestion was immediately treated as a piece of "shock, horror, probe!" villany by some members of New Labour.  The reaction from most cabinet ministers, on the other hand, was a very long way short of providing El Presidente with a show of support.

Dateline: Friday, January 8th 2010.
By this morning most of the shouting had died down, and the two ex-cabinet ministers who launched the poll proposal (Geoff Hoon - Secretary of State for Defence (Army, Navy and Air Force) at the start of the second Iraq War; and Patricia Hewitt - Minister of State (1999-2001), and then Secretary of State (2001-2007) in three different departments overall) - had been written off as failed leaders of a rebellion that never happened.

Even Gordon Brown, the man who once announced (December 10th, 2008) that his government (i.e. Paramount Chief Brown - see sidebar above) had "saved the world" during the financial disaster of the late 2000s, dismissed the affair as a "storm in a teacup".

But was it really that unimportant?  Or did Mr Brown and his supporters get caught by as neat a double bind as one could wish to see?

Probably the most widely circulated version of Brown's rise to the position of PM (from his previous job of Chancellor of the Exchequer) was that Tony Blair had promised him the job when he (Blair) moved on, in return for Brown's support when Blair stood for the post of leader of the party.  In their usual, sheep-like manner, a majority of the rank and file of New Labour voted Mr Brown into office, unopposed.  And have suffered the consequences ever since.

Since that time, Der Leader has stumbled from crisis to crisis and from rebellion to rebellion, a living embodiment of the Shakespearian epigram, "uneasy lies the head that wears the crown".  This latest incident being the third challenge to his leadership in recent months.

The Double Bind

Coming back to the present day, then, it is fairly clear that loyalty to the leader withing New Labour is by no means commonplace, which is why the latest suggestion is so devastating - a double bind, in fact, though we have no means of knowing what Hoon and Hewitt actually intended.

The exact wording of the proposal (sent to New Labour MPs in an e-mail) began as follows:

As we move towards a General Election it remains the case that the Parliamentary Labour Party is deeply divided over the question of the leadership.  Many colleagues have expressed their frustration at the way in which this question is affecting our political performance.  We have therefore come to the conclusion that the only way to resolve this issue would be to allow every member to express their view in a secret ballot.
 
This could be done quickly and with minimum disruption to the work of MPs and the Government.  Whatever the outcome the whole of the party could then go forward, knowing that this matter had been sorted out once and for all.

In theory, this was a golden opportunity for the Beloved Leader to strengthen his position.  If he really did have widespread support from cabinet members and other MPs then allowing the poll - initiated by someone other than his own cronies - would have allowed Brown to prove the fact and put a stop to the rumours that are constantly circulating about his dictatorial attitude towards the entire party, from cabinet ministers downwards.

BUT (1) - if the rumours were true then clearly such a poll would only further undermine the Fearless Leader's credibility, and possibly lead to an even greater defeat for New Labour in the General Election than is currently expected.

BUT (2) - if no such poll was allowed, then it could be interpreted as yet more proof that the Brownites know perfectly well that the results of such a poll would be his death knell, and therefore obviously could not allow it to take place.

In short, if Brown's position as leader of the New Labour party were secure, then having the poll would be a smart move.

If, on the other hand, Brown's leadership is riding on a knife edge then he was bound to lose whichever way things went went - the Brownites could have the poll and be shown up, or block the poll and show that they have pretty good idea what the result of a secret ballot would be and are afraid of have El Generalissimo shown up.

Whatever their intentions, Hoon and Hewitt seem to have created an essentially perfect double bind.
And if Brown and his supporters really think that he, and they, are out of the woods then maybe they have lost the plot at a potentially crucial stage of the proceedings.

Since this News item was written:

Dateline: Sunday, January 10th 2010.
According to a BBC report (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8450375.stm):

Former Labour general secretary Mr Watt told the Mail on Sunday: "Gordon is a big political figure but he lacks the emotional intelligence required by a modern leader".

Channel4 News reported Watts' claim that "From the first ... Gordon Brown had no plan".  "Worse, perhaps," the report continues, "is Watt's claim that the prime minister is disliked by even his closest colleagues.
(http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/gordon+brownaposs+leadership+aposa+shamblesapos/3495642)

 
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