I'm lonely !! Brown telephones voters at home

Brown telephones voters at home

Mr Brown has always telephoned voters, says No 10

Gordon Brown routinely telephones voters at home to talk about Labour policy, Downing Street has confirmed.

The prime minister is understood to ask the No 10 switchboard to put him through to people who have written to him with questions or concerns.

A BBC News website reader has told how Mr Brown called him two months ago to talk about the Iraq war.

Wajid Rafique said the PM apologised on behalf of the government "for what had happened to the people of Iraq".

'Not expecting reply'

Mr Rafique, 30, from Nelson, Lancashire, said Mr Brown called him on a Saturday afternoon when he was "still in bed after a late night on Friday".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7427297.stm

Eh !! Blair 'secretly advising Brown' First I've heard about it

Blair 'secretly advising Brown'

Mrs Blair says she has 'nothing personal' against Gordon Brown

Tony Blair is giving advice to Prime Minister Gordon Brown and has told him how to win the next election, Cherie Blair has said.

Her disclosure is made in an interview with the Times newspaper to coincide with its serialisation of her autobiography, Speaking for Myself.

In one extract from the book, she reveals how her husband suffered a crisis of confidence over the Iraq war.

But she writes he decided to stay on as PM to fight for his domestic legacy.

'Rattling the keys'

During 10 years in Downing Street, Mrs Blair, the former prime minister's wife, continued her high-flying legal career and became a high profile media figure in her own right.

Over the years she was in the headlines almost as much as her husband, and not always for the reasons she would have liked.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7393530.stm

Oh My God whatever next !!Blair 'to devote life to faith'

Blair 'to devote life to faith'

Mr Blair has recently announced his conversion to Catholicism

Former prime minister Tony Blair has promised to "spend the rest of my life" uniting the world's religions

He said faith could be a "civilising force in globalisation", bringing people together to solve problems such as malaria and extreme poverty.

Mr Blair, who is now a peace envoy to the Middle East, told Time magazine that religious belief had given him "strength" while in power.

He is launching a "faith foundation" in New York on Friday.

Mr Blair, who recently converted to Catholicism, said: "Faith is part of our future, and faith and the values it brings with it are an essential part of making globalisation work."

'Fantastic thing'

His foundation will attempt to bring religions together to tackle global issues such as the UN's eight Millennium Development Goals, which range from eradicating extreme poverty to ensuring environmental sustainability.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7426647.stm

In a Bunker ? I don't play golf , what's he on about ?

PM Brown 'in by-election bunker'

Mr Brown has not been to campaign in Crewe and Nantwich

David Cameron has accused Gordon Brown of hiding in "his bunker" - instead of going out to Crewe and Nantwich to explain axing the 10p tax band.

Mr Brown told MPs it was a prime ministerial convention not to campaign at by-elections and he had given £2.7bn to help those hit by tax changes.

Mr Cameron taunted him by saying his predecessor as PM, Tony Blair, "led from the front" at by-elections.

It came as all parties made a final push for votes in Thursday's poll.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7412261.stm

Oh God !! Yes they are my fingers and they're on the button !!

My global moral vision

Brown reveals global moral vision

The prime minister urged nations and religions to act together to solve problems

Gordon Brown has been setting out his vision for a global society governed by a shared "moral sense".

The prime minister was addressing the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh.

It is 20 years since Margaret Thatcher gave her "Sermon on the Mound" at the Assembly, arguing a theological basis for her free market thinking.

Mr Brown, whose father was a Kirk minister, said he shared the church's "enduring vision of the good society".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7405547.stm

Oh God , are they my fingers ???????????????????????

Labour will recover !!!!

Labour will recover, says Brown

Gordon Brown: 'It's not been the best weekend'

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said Labour "will recover" after its worst local election results in 40 years, and told the BBC he took the blame.

"I feel responsible. There are no excuses on my part at all," he told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show.

He admitted to some mistakes but said he had the "conviction and ideas" to take the country forward.

For the Tories, Liam Fox said Mr Brown was "caught in a mental rut" and should "stop patronising" voters.

Labour's poor local election results - in which their projected share of the national vote dropped to 24%, pushing them into third place behind the Lib Dems - were topped by Ken Livingstone's defeat by Conservative Boris Johnson in London's mayoral race.

In his first interview after the results were announced, Mr Brown said it had "not been the best weekend", adding that voters were worried about rising petrol and food prices and utility bills.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7382674.stm

It's bad and disappointing , I'll listen and lead!!!!

Gordon Brown says it has been a "bad and disappointing" election for Labour, as the party suffers its worst council results in at least 40 years.

BBC research suggests Labour won 24% of votes cast in England and Wales, behind the Tories on 44% and Lib Dems on 25%.

So far Labour has lost 310 councillors and key councils like Reading. Tory gains include Bury and North Tyneside.

Mr Brown insists his party will learn lessons. David Cameron called it a "big moment" for the Conservative Party.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7372860.stm

May 2nd Boris who ????

Saint Boris's Day?

Some religious calendars indicate this is the day to commemorate Boris

May 2, 2008 11:49 AM

My colleague Haroon Siddique mentions, in his live coverage of the election results that today is Saint Boris's Day. Well, yes and no.

Boris-Mihail I of Bulgaria. Photograph: WikiCommons
True, the Orthodox calendar of saints lists May 2 as the commemoration of Saint Boris (Boris-Mihail of Bulgaria) and of the translation of the relics of Boris and Gleb, princes of Russia, whose main feast day is on July 24. But the Russian Orthodox church uses the Julian calendar (though, confusingly, this does not apparently make it Old Calendarist). Consequently, celebrations at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in London today will be for Bright Friday, it being April 19 in the ecclesiastical calendar. Saint Boris (the Russian) will have to wait until May 15 in the secular Gregorian calendar. To make things a little clearer, the Bulgarian and Greek churches follow the Gregorian calendar, though not in all things, and thus for those churches it is indeed May 2. (Unless you're talking about the Old Calendar Orthodox Church). So, is it Saint Boris's Day? It very much depends on who you ask

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/05/saint_boriss_day.html