It was, the Israeli Foreign Minister observed with a wry smile, a "busy time" for Gordon Brown in 10 Downing Street.

Later the Prime Minister will discuss the Middle East again with Condoleezza Rice when she too drops into No 10 for a chat.

But it is events at home which are pre-occupying Mr Brown and his inner circle of aides, spin doctors and senior Cabinet Ministers.

He managed a smile for his Israeli guest and the small handful of political journalists who went in to see him and quiz him about the dreadful local election results. But it looked as if it was a struggle.

And the way the PM described his phone conversation with Ken Livingstone, praising his record on winning the Olympics, policing, transport and housing, sounded very much as though he was commiserating with him for losing, not congratulating him on a victory.

He would "listen and lead", the Prime Minister told me, after these heavy losses for Labour. But many Labour MPs say that's not good enough and he needs to change his policies.

Fat chance. Mr Brown was adamant that his policies on rising food and fuel prices and the mortgage crisis were right and would be eventually be proved to be right.

Those in the Brown inner circle admit they are pessimistic about London, believing the turnout in the outer boroughs, where Boris Johnson's support is strongest, was "massive".

A senior member of the Shadow Cabinet phoned me to predict a Boris victory, claiming he may have won by 52-48% or even 53-47% after second preferences. The Tories believe, he said, that 45% or perhaps even as many as 47% of Brian Pddick's second preferences have gone to Boris Johnson.

A senior Tory number cruncher told me: "There is an expectation that Boris has won. Gordon's conversation with Ken sounded like a conversation of the dead."

The PM's task now will be to try and contain the mood of dissent and mutiny on his back benches after these terrible results.

About as easy as bringing peace to the Middle East.

Comments

[carol-ann liverpool 4 May 2008 17:30:30]

Craig Hants

Well I am sure that the environmentalists, the medical dieticians and others might suggest that your children, if they are old enough, should be going to school by bus, train or Shanks's pony, just like thousands of other kids whose parents either don't have a car or have to leave for work before their kids have to leave for school.

That is the point of the increase, to encourage more people to use their legs, buses and trains. If your buses and trains are not safe perhaps you should be asking the authority responsible what they plan to do about issues of safety and security.

For those who use cars to take kids to school and who only have one or two kids in their cars, they could take neighbouring children to school and fill the empty spaces in their cars and the parents of those children can give you a fee for doing so which would offset your extra costs.
Many workers have being doing a similar thing for years.

[carol-ann liverpool 4 May 2008 14:33:30]

John

Well the one good thing if Dave gets in, you wont be able to blame anyone else for your problems and concerns and we await your transformation from miserable grump to happy chappy, lol.

[Craig Hants 3 May 2008 19:54:31]

wait till the car tax effects come in next year anyone paying £210 WILL NOW PAY £445 THANKS GORDON i have a family car shall i let my kids go on the safe buses or trains to school

[E Welshman 2 May 2008 16:57:26]

Not many pictures of Cameron and advice to him on how he can consolidate his position.

Instead, all we see is Bottler's face peering out of from the telly, with copious advice on how he could bring it all back together again.

Bias, or what ?

I thought better of Sky, I must admit.

[Merv. Beszant, Dubai 2 May 2008 14:00:05]

Rik.,
And Gordon probably feels as though he was underneath it!

[E Welshman 2 May 2008 13:55:31]

Come on Bottler - make a decision for once in your life - call an election, please !

[Rik, Yate 2 May 2008 12:52:46]

Isn't it wonderful? It's like the Berlin wall coming down....Brown coming down.

[Steve, London 2 May 2008 12:50:11]

Along the lines of the previous analogy on another board (Manuel's "I know nooothing" when it comes to loans), Gordon's recent denials would, I guess, equate to Bart Simpson as the "I didn't do it" kid. (spend 11 years destroying the economy and then turn around and say "I didn't do it"), shame he doesn't have the charisma to carry it off.

[Khalid 2 May 2008 12:19:26]

No matter what, the people have voted and made a statement that [Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Thing] for [Blue]!

[John (Northumberland) 2 May 2008 11:58:57]

If he had the interests of his Party at heart, he would stand down.

If he had the interests of his country at heart, he would call an election.

But if we're talking self-interest Gordon - hang on. Waffle on about listening and learning lessons. What a load of tosh!

You are an arrogant and incompetent man capable of neither.

You have wrecked the solid economic platform Ken Clarke handed you and squandered the growth of the past 15 years. You have flooded the country with economic migrants and international undesirables. You have poverty trapped some of the less well off members of our society. You have destroyed everything from our pension system to our Post Offices.

Rest assured Mr Brown. We won't forget you. And when you do finally call a General Election, you and your party will be annihilated.

[Steve, London 2 May 2008 11:48:51]

If in doubt, blame foreigners. That's what Gordon's doing. Apparently it's the Americans' fault for the fact our economy is in the toilet and that people's disposable income (what's left of it) is now worthless when it comes to food and fuel.
After all those losses, he's still blaming other people for problems that he's personally created.
Doubling the lowest-paid workers tax rate at a time when food and fuel prices are so high and it's impossible to get a mortgage doesn't strike me as someone else's fault. Neither does stealing people's pensions via his massive pension tax raids.
I hope the backbenchers have the common sense to boot him out immediately.

[Merv. Beszant, Dubai 2 May 2008 11:45:49]

Sid.,
Although that doesn't necessarily mean that he won't be asked to be Santa again!

[The Truth Will Out 2 May 2008 11:43:29]

If the Labour Party has any sense they'll get rid of this sure-fire loser before the next election.

[Merv. Beszant, Dubai 2 May 2008 11:42:19]

Jon,
It's probably not a good time for Mrs. Brown to ask Gordon if he fancies a nice barbeque, with a few friends, on Bank Holiday Monday!

[Chris, Baildon 2 May 2008 11:42:07]

He keeps bleating on about making the right "long term" decisions. It's his fault that the country has no money left (after 15 good years) to give fiscal stimulus to the economy to help cushion the current downturn.

He just does not get it.

An example of the lack of "long term" thinking (which someone needs to ask him - Jon?)

"On Wednesday, March 19, the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, made an important statement in the House of Commons setting out a new ‘National Security Strategy’ for the country. ... Two words, however, were remarkable by their virtual absence from Brown’s panoply of imagined threats and risks, namely ‘food security’. This is deeply concerning, and it demonstrates yet again the abject failure of this Government... and of the increasingly severe impact of rising food prices on everyone." Emeritus Professor Philip Stott 20 March 2008

Food security and prices are a huge UK and global threat - yet New Labour did not see it 6 weeks ago - when anyone with any brains knew what was happening - the rush Bio Fuels just makes it worse.

Sorry to be a bit off topic at the end - he just annoys me SO much.

[Sid in Gateshead 2 May 2008 11:30:39]

Nothing this government does now will make the slightest difference to how the electorate feel. I doubt if Gordon Brown will still be PM by christmas.

[Liz, Suffolk 2 May 2008 11:17:17]

Did anyone notice Gordon's body language in the recent interview on TV? He was squirming and backpedaling at a rate of knots. Still plenty of spin, though. "We will learn the lessons.....I will listen and lead....." What clap-trap.

I did notice that Gordon kept on repeating himself and taking up air time so reporters couldn't ask too many questions. He made a very quick exit. So much for that, then.

[machiavelli 2 May 2008 11:05:18]

2 thoughts. Firstly, just watch his eyes when he gives that quote. He doesn't believe it any more than the rest of us.

Secondly, it's now apparent that the Government's strategy is to focus on the economic downturn (novel!) in the expectation that Brown's past reputation will be enough to rescue him.

That should be worth an extra few points in the polls for the Tories, as well as cementing their existing lead. It's precisely BECAUSE of Brown's economic mismanagement and real financial pain that people are feeling that Labour are suffering electoral massacres up and down the country.

Brown's strategy will at once remind people of why they loath him and his Government, and show he's not listening because the tone is that, "people need to understand what we're doing".

It's not that we don't understand, Mr Brown. We GET it, we just don't WANT it.

[Mentor - Northumberland 2 May 2008 10:56:43]

Brown can easily deal with any and all Dissent:

Call a General Election- NOW!