How U.S. wrote off Brown with his 'abysmal track record' just a year into premiership
By James Chapman
Last updated at 1:47 PM on 3rd December 2010
- U.S. slams 'post-Blair rudderlessness'
- Brown lurching from 'disaster to disaster'
- List of possible new leaders made in 2008
- Ed Miliband wasn't among the six picked
Gordon Brown was written off a year into his premiership by the U.S., who mocked his ‘abysmal track record’ and treated his international initiatives with disdain, secret documents have revealed.
The latest WikiLeaks cables showed how the Americans began sizing up Mr Brown’s potential replacements as early as 2008.
They concluded that David Miliband provided ‘rare moments of star power’ for the struggling Labour Party.
Brown and Obama: By the time the heads of state met at the G20 summit in April 2009 the British Prime Minister had already been written off by the U.S.
But embarrassingly, the U.S. officials made no reference to his brother Ed, now Labour leader, among six potential candidates to be prime minister which included little-known backbencher Jon Cruddas.
The officials told Washington how then-business minister Lady Vadera, a close ally of Mr Brown nicknamed ‘Shriti the Shriek’ because of her abrasive manner, would regularly interrupt him during meetings on the economy.
‘Private secretary told us Vadera would regularly scream from her desk, “Get me a cup of coffee” with a string of expletives attached, prompting three scheduling assistants to leave her office in three months,’ reported one cable.
The U.S. embassy in London reported to Washington how Mr Brown was stumbling from ‘political disaster to disaster’, and presiding over a ‘post-Blair rudderlessness’.
The cables revealed that U.S. officials were irritated by Brown’s intense manner. The former PM interrupted a Thanksgiving call to President Obama’s ambassador to lobby for a Tobin tax on financial transactions despite having been repeatedly informed of American opposition. ‘Prime minister Brown continues to press hard ... despite being fully aware of US opposition to the tax,’ the ambassador, Louis Susman, wrote in December last year.
CYPRUS SPY PLANES CLASH
Britain and America waged a furious diplomatic battle over secret U.S. spy flights launched from a British airbase.
Leaked diplomatic cables show that Labour ministers demanded answers from the White House over U2 spy plane missions launched from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
They feared the flights made the UK complicit in torture. Intelligence gleaned from the flights was passed to the Lebanon to help track down Hezbollah militants.
But the Government feared the missions, which have never previously been disclosed, would lead to killings, torture or other human rights abuses.
The U.S. embassy in London concluded: 'A new element of distrust has crept into the U.S.-UK mil-mil relationship.'
On April 18 2008, Britain demanded the U.S. embassy in London provide full details of all flights so ministers could tell whether they 'put the UK at risk of being complicit in unlawful acts'.
The Americans treated Mr Brown’s international efforts, from food summits to global disarmament and a UK national security council, with indifference bordering on contempt, other documents suggest.
On the issue of Mr Brown’s lobbying for an international tax on financial transactions, the U.S. concluded he was ‘using the issue for domestic political gain’.
In a sign of Mr Brown’s unsubtle negotiating tactics, Mr Susman recorded dryly: ‘The prime minister has stated that he saw co-ordination of our actions on Afghanistan and financial services as the cornerstones of the UK-U.S. bilateral relationship, and has expressed disappointment that on the latter, the U.S. has not been as supportive as he had hoped.
‘The prime minister’s position is largely being driven by domestic politics, as a way to be seen as “punishing the banks”.’
There was an intense exchange of cables at the end of July 2008 after Labour’s ‘terrible’ by-election defeat to the Scottish National Party in Glasgow East.
Robert Tuttle, Bush’s last ambassador to London, wrote in a cable on July 31 2008, a week after the by-election: ‘As Gordon Brown lurches from political disaster to disaster, Westminster is abuzz with speculation about whether he will be replaced as prime minister and Labour Party leader, and, if so, by whom …
'A terrible by-election defeat ... has left the Labour Party reeling and fuelled fears among MPs that Brown’s leadership of the party, and his premiership, may now be beyond repair.
The ambassador wrote pen portraits of several Labour figures who might succeed Brown. Mr Tuttle concluded: ‘We don’t see a clear tipping point on the horizon - but given Brown’s abysmal track record over the last year, that day could come when Labour MPs return from vacations in late August/early September.’
Milibands: It was David and not Ed who was seen as having 'star power' by the U.S. in 2008
The embassy’s view of Brown briefly improved in the autumn of 2008 when he led the way in bailing out the banks, but soon crashed again.
The ambassador wrote pen portraits of several Labour figures who might succeed Brown. Mr Tuttle concluded: ‘We don’t see a clear tipping point on the horizon – but given Brown’s abysmal track record over the last year, that day could come when Labour MPs return from vacations in late August/early September.’
The embassy’s view of Brown briefly improved in the autumn of 2008 when he led the way in bailing out the banks, but soon crashed again.
Within a month the embassy described Labour as a ‘sinking ship’. In a cable on April 24 last year, after Mr Brown’s spin chief Damian McBride – described as ‘particularly unpleasant’ by U.S. officials who had dealt with him – had resigned over his involvement in a plot to smear Tories, political counsellor Greg Berry said Labour was in such dire straits that none of Brown’s possible challengers would want to strik.
‘We assess it unlikely that any Labour politician with his or her eye on the future would want to take on the sinking ship that is the current Labour Party at this time of crisis,’ Mr Berry wrote. ‘It is more likely that Labour will go down in the next election – and then will begin the process of rebuilding.’
The embassy had relayed to Washington its doubts about Brown early in his premiership. In an account of Brown’s first spring conference as prime minister, Mr Tuttle cabled there was a ‘lack of charismatic leadership’, adding: ‘David Miliband provided rare moments of star power for a party that seems increasingly to miss Tony Blair’s charisma.’
WASHINGTON PREDICTS BROWN'S SUCCESSOR... WITH NO ED MILIBAND
The U.S. speculated about who could succeed Gordon Brown as early as July 2008. Robert Tuttle, then ambassador to London, wrote pen portraits of six possible candidates. Embarrassingly for new Labour leader Ed Miliband, he was not even included on the list - while his older brother David was considered the most likely to take over.
DAVID MILIBAND
Too brainy to be leader?'David Miliband is a high-flying young member of the Government whose name inevitably tops 'future leader' lists, with some going as far as to call him Labour's "heir apparent"… He steers clear of well-known Blairite rabble rousers Charles Clarke, Alan Milburn and John Reid, all of whom are suspected of trying to unseat Brown, and resisted pressure from 'Blairites' to stand against Brown before last year's leadership handover … His Labour credentials are impeccable and his intellect unquestioned. Some consider Miliband, whose nickname at Number 10 was "egghead", as too brainy to be leader.'
HARRIET HARMAN
Policy lightweight'Harriet Harman, the only woman mentioned as a possible successor, is a relative policy lightweight but an adept inter-party operator. A Brownite, she has reportedly been discreetly attempting to gauge how much support she has among Parliamentary colleagues ever since Brown's star started to wane earlier this year. Harman faces a rough ride with most of the UK media, especially the more widely read tabloids who criticize her aggressive championing of women's rights and say that she is obsessed with political correctness.'
ED BALLS
Super-bright but charmless'Super bright, relatively young, Ed Balls … has performed badly as schools secretary and is accused of shirking responsibility for the failings of his department … Critics point out that since coming out from the shadows and entering the public arena, Balls has shown himself to be less than suited to the top job: his public speaking is derided as "dull", his slightly awkward manner as "charmless", and he has many enemies within the party, precisely because of his relationship with the PM. Party insiders accuse him of cowardice because he tells Brown what he thinks Brown wants to hear.'
ALAN JOHNSON
Lacks killer instinct'For many in the Labour party, Alan Johnson pushes all the right personal buttons... Johnson, who has a reputation as an inclusive and collegiate boss and is most often described as "amiable", is happy to let junior ministers in his department shine rather than taking their ideas or their limelight - but it is this lack of killer instinct that, commentators note, make Johnson more suitable to serve as a deputy prime minister, rather than for the top job itself in which he has shown remarkably little interest.'
ANDY BURNHAM
The dark horse Blairite'A "Blairite" who successfully survived the cull when Brown became PM. Burnham is a dark horse favorite among Labour members.
'The Cambridge-educated father-of-three has a common touch his rivals envy and is married to his university sweetheart, Dutch-born Marie-France.
JON CRUDDAS
Wild card, astute and wily politician'Jon Crudas [sic] is a wild card. Although not well known outside the party, he fought a brilliant campaign in last year's Labour deputy leader contest, eventually losing out to Harriet Harman, but not before winning the crucial backing of some of the country's biggest trade unions as well as the endorsement of Labour's Tribune magazine. Cruddas, elected to Parliament in 2001, has already shown himself to be a highly astute and wily politician... One of Cruddas's biggest assets is his wife, fellow party activist Anna Healy.'
U.S. VERDICT ON BROWN'S ALLIES
DAMIAN McBRIDE
Particularly unpleasant'Unpopular within the Labour Party according to our contacts, and a particularly unpleasant person based on our own experiences with him, McBride was one of Brown's closest advisors.'
SHRITI VADERA
Demanding
'Private secretary told us Vadera would regularly scream from her desk, "Get me a cup of coffee" with a string of expletives attached, prompting three scheduling assistants to leave her office in three months. She joined the prime minister, chancellor Darling, and G8 Sherpa Jon Cunliffe in the January 13 meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke; she interrupted the PM on several occasions to make a point about the economic crisis.'
U.S. feared a fresh Falklands conflict
Clinton: Warned a new Falklands war was possible
U.S. officials asked for reports over fears that hothead Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez could join forces with Argentina to seize the Falkland Islands from Britain.
The WikiLeaks cables reveal that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that a new war over the territory was possible after the UK authorised drilling for oil in the waters off the islands.
In January Mrs Clinton sent a memo to the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires pointing out: ‘It is possible that Argentina might use the prospective oil exploration in the region as an opportunity to assert its claims over the islands and the waters surrounding it.’
She said Argentine president Cristina Kirchner might adopt ‘a bellicose stance’ to distract attention from domestic economic problems.
Mrs Clinton demanded information about Argentina’s likely response and asked that it include a possible ‘military clash with the United Kingdom?’ Making clear that Mr Chavez, Venezuela’s communist leader, might egg on the Argentines, Mrs Clinton asked her diplomats to report ‘on any Argentine government or military officials’ discussions about planned actions, alone or in concert with regional allies like Venezuela’.
The Falklands became a flashpoint again yesterday when oil firm Desire Petroleum announced it had made a fresh find in the area.
'Feral' Romania, by ex-Tory chairman
Former Tory Party chairman Chris Patten branded Romania a 'feral nation' during discussions about its potential membership of the European Union.
Leaked U.S. cables also suggested Mr Patten said Russian leader Vladimir Putin had the 'eyes of a killer'.
The Tory - European Commissioner for External Relations from 1999 to 2004 - had been discussing the applications of Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania.
One cable read: 'Croatia, Patten said, is probably far more prepared for EU membership than either Bulgaria or Romania, who will likely enter the Union earlier. Romania, in particular, was a "feral nation".' Romania eventually joined the EU in 2007.
The former Tory minister made his comments about Mr Putin in 2004. Kyle Scott, a. U.S. diplomat in Brussels, recorded Mr Patten saying of the Russian leader: 'He seems a completely reasonable man when discussing the Middle East or energy policy but when the conversation shifts to Chechnya or Islamic extremism, Putin's eyes turn to those of a killer'.
Leaked U.S. cabled have also claimed Mr Putin was aware of the assassination plot to execute former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.
Friday, 3 December 2010
How U.S. wrote off Brown with his 'abysmal track record' just a year into premiership | Mail Online
via dailymail.co.uk
