Morphew quits as City Council Leader

I had known for some time that Steve Morphew - who, like him or loath him, has put his heart and soul into Norwich politics for a long time time now - was planning to step down. I like Steve a lot; he's a decent guy, easy to do business with and has the City stamped through his heart. We've clashed, a lot, in the council chamber and he is a great advocate for the Labour cause and for Norwich. Ultimately he is wrong (on nearly everything, naturally) but credit where it is due - he dragged the City back from the financial abyss left the LibDems and has run a hung council with remarkable stability. In the end, Morphew could have quit over a number of issues - the Connaught collapse, the million pound unitary fiasco, Greyhound Opening ... but in a funny way I am glad he has gone in his own way and in his own time. I always praise genuine public service, and Steve Morphew has been one of the City's fine public servants. Like Brian Watkins before him, public life in the City will be poorer when he has gone.

My gripe, if I am allowed one, is that Cllr Morphew will lead Labour into the 2011 City poll and then a new leader will be elected afterwards. This means that when people vote they will not know who will be the next Labour Leader or, potentially, the next City Council Leader. This seems unfair on local people and not very democratic. So I am urging Steve to step down earlier to allow Labour a leader by the time of the poll. I think local people deserve that.

So good luck Steve; enjoy life with the family and actually trying to earn a living. Being City Council Leader is a full time job on a part-time salary and we all appreciate the sacrifices you make in public office (none more so than those of us who have done it). Enjoy the (brief) retirement, and then - who knows ...?

Labour Member: Morphew Must Go

I am not one to leap up and down demanding that heads roll and resignations must follow each bowt of bad news. However I did, with a lot of media coverage, demand that somebody within the ruling Labour adminsitration take responsibility for the dreadful 0-Star (yes, zero star) rating for Housing. Of course, the weak LibDem opposition are happy to allow Labour to bumble along constantly promising jam tomorrow because they know the state they left the City in was little better.

Interesting that despite Steve Morphew saying that resignations would achieve nothing, today a letter was published in the Evening News (sadly not on-line) from a staunch life-long Labour member in Norwich demanding that Morphew personally should resign to prevent meltdown at the elections and to restore confidence in the council.

When your political enemies slam you, that's the game, when your own members do it ...

Now Scots LibDem Leader Quits

Breaking news tonight is the resignation of Nicol Stephen as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Scotland; the second major party leader to resign North of the Border in just a week.

He has apparently resigned because of the strain it has had on his family; no problem with that after all Alan Milburn did the same.

However, I am rather curious about the timing. After the disasterous result in Henley, this resignation could put more pressure on Clegg and will provide a distraction from Labour's woes. It also means the party will fight the Glasgow by-election, along with Labour, leaderless.

Could he not have hung on a few weeks more, even until the end of July or resign after the summer recess? It is just the worst time to go; so why go now?

An odd decision, but either way I wish Nicol Stephen well and trust our pressurised 24-7 political life hasn't broken another career - can politicans have a work-life balance?

LibDem Leader (plus 5 of his Councillors) quit

The worst kept secret in City Hall is that a volley of LibDem Councillors are to quit before the election on 1st May. Along with departing Leader Cllr Cooke (Lakenham), out go Cllrs Mayhew (Mile Cross), Hume (University), Hartley (Town Close), Surridge (Thorpe Hamlet) and Lowe (Mancroft).

Of course all have served the council well - as Lord Mayors, Executive Members and in council and on committees.

Of course, there are some cynics wandering around the place commenting that EVERY LibDem in a marginal seat is quitting, perhaps before they are soundly beaten.

I say this is, of course, not true.

After all, Judith Lubbock is staying on to be beaten!

UPDATE; Hereward tells the EDP he still expects his party to do well. I wonder if he'll make a prediction on how many seats they'll win!

Dithering is the most damaging attack

Poor Gordon Brown must be thinking his Premiership is jinxed; and dear old Mr Blair must be chortling into his Pina Colada tonight. Peter Hain is now set to spend more time with his tan and the pension holders of the nation rejoice. The snare of the media now turns to the impact upon Gordon, now that he's lost his first cabinet minister.

Of all the charges laid against the Prime Minister tonight, I believe the most damaging to Mr Brown is that of dithering. From the cancelled election to Northern Rock and now Peter Hain (he should have been sacked weeks ago).

Dithering is the one thing - the one underlying characteristic - that will lose Brown the sympathy of the British people. We like decisive leaders, we want people to take charge; we voted in Thatcher and Blair with landslide majorities and yet large numbers hated one, or other, or both.

The one thing I have always respected about some people is their ability to make decisions. Be it in school or in politics, nobody wants to hear "I'll sleep on it", "I'll think about it" or "I'll mull that one over." We want something to happen and we want it to happen now. I want a leader, an MP and a PM who make decisions and make things happen.

The more and more we hear of Brown's dithering, the more his total persona is undermined. Is there any way back for a dithering PM?

A very modern resignation

Social networking may have gone a step too far as one friend points out that Labour's latest resignation in the City has come on the Facebook site. Dan Roper, who I think may even have stood as a candidate before, has quit and left an open message giving his reasons why. At least Labour have found an up-to-date way of people of shunning them.

Compare and Contrast

Compare this thoughful and considered piece from David Cameron to the utterly meaningless pap spouted by Blair today. I know which one I'd rather be in the position of being our Prime Minister.

The "shock" of the Prime Minister's resignation has led to reels of reflective pieces on the last 10 years. Here's mine...

Tax, spend, tax, balme the tories, waste, spend, tax, spin, waste, tax, tax, spin, tax, waste, spend, blame absolutely everyone else but us, tax, waste, tax, spend, waste (continues for 10 long, long, hard years...)

Cameron does it again!

Tory Leader David Cameron and his aides must have thought long and hard before launching his call for Blair to resign. It is true that the excellent soundbites at PMQs this week got Cameron some of his best headlines since being elected over a year ago. It put the Blair succession issue back on the media agenda and compounded another bad week for the Premier.

But I cannot help thinking that this wasn't just some short-term headline grabbing initiative. Cameron toured the media handing out the same "hello, just go" line for a few days and the Sunday Express poll today picked up the same theme (53% want Blair gone now, including 43% of Labour voters.)

So is there a longer-term strategy in place? The more I think about this, the more I think there is. When Dave was elected I said that his real USP was being able to "out-think" Labour on a number of issues. I feel he's done it again.

Blair is the Tories best asset. We want him to stay in place long enough for his to lead his party to one last (and maybe the greatest) slaughtering at the polls this May. We want meltdown in England, a battering in Scotland and a thumping in Wales. We want Blair to be the man who leads Labour into the oncoming electoral machine gun fire and watch as Labour Councils and Councillors are defeated.

So when then demand he quit? Because the one thing he now cannot do is resign - because we've told him to. If Blair quits now, Cameron will claim the scalp and will be the Tory Leader who finally got rid of Blair. The Tory media will declare that the Witney MP will have been instrumental in ousting the Sedgefield MP. Hence Blair cannot quit now and give Cameron that boost. He must hang on and go in his own time and in his own way. And in the time being, lead Labour to that May defeat.

Win-Win for the Conservative Leader.