Last November Alex posted about Brown’s woes inside the No.10 bunker. Sue Cameron is back today with more insights into life in Downing St.
The trouble with Gordon Brown’s Number 10 is that you never know whether you are watching a farce or a tragedy. The Downing Street machine is so elaborate as to be positively baroque – yet somehow Mr Brown cannot find the levers that will give it lift-off. He and his minions – there are well over 200 people in the prime minister’s office – appear as characters in search of a strategy. Which is where the farce emerges.
Consider: Mr Brown has just appointed outside communications expert Stephen Carter as his chief of strategy. Beneath Mr Carter is Spencer Livermore, who is director of political strategy in the prime minister’s office. Then there is Nick Pearce, who is head of strategic policy at the PM’s policy unit, which is based in the Treasury and is answerable to both Mr Brown and to Alistair Darling, the chancellor. (Do concentrate at the back.)
There is also an entire strategy unit – with 42 staff – headed by Stephen Aldridge. This outpost of the Cabinet Office, housed in Admiralty Arch, provides strategy and policy advice to the PM. It assists other departments “in developing effective strategies . . . including helping them to build their strategic capability”.
Now Number 10 is looking for more top spinners to beef up its strategic communications unit (no, this is quite separate from any of the other strategy chiefs, directors, units etc mentioned above).
I’m told its remit will be to take a long-term strategic view (what else?) as to how Mr Brown can “put together a coherent and consistent story”. There is the rub. As one minister put it: “With Blair I always knew what the story was – with Gordon I haven’t a clue what the bloody story is.”
One of those reportedly approached to strengthen the PM’s team is Luke Swanson, head of communications at Pearson, which owns the FT. Mr Swanson says: “We never comment about ‘people’ things.”
“It’s all throat-clearing,” says one sceptic. “They are avoiding doing anything.” Which may be the tragedy. Mr Brown with his brilliant mind risks being trapped in a cruel, Kafka-esque Whitehall web where he cannot move.
