John Cruddas has quite a few. So does Alan Johnson. David Cameron has a lot, as do some of his opponents.
I am thinking of friends among the bloggers out there. On 18 Doughty Street this evening, we were chatting about bloggers’ reactions to Gordon Brown but could not think of one friend that he has out there.
There seems to be an extraordinary lack of enthusiasm among grass-roots Labour members for old-Gordo. Does anyone know of a blogger who has stood up for him?
His friends among the union movement seem to be thin on the ground, too.
There is no need for a blogger to stand up for Gordon, he has no real opponents from which his blogging supporters would seek to defend him.
Wait til the Deputy Leadership circus is over and GB introduces his first controversial policy and his friends will be leaping to his defence
Comment by Commissar — 19 June, 2007 @ 9:27 am
That may well be true, but does that mean that blogging is only ever an instrument of protest?
Comment by John R — 19 June, 2007 @ 3:19 pm
I just searched various search engines for measuring consumer opinions online and it’s true that there are not many blogs supporting Brown. Commissar may be onto something – political blogs are often critical rather than supportive, especially those from whichever party is in opposition. This blog, setting aside its admin/operational posts, is far more critical than constructive. Having said that, there are several bloggers who support Blair (I didn’t realize anyone liked him any more, or would be brave enough to say so) and Angela Merkel (to choose a random foreign leader). Perhaps, to expand on Commissar’s point, the fact that Brown has no explicit friends or enemies just means he doesn’t elicit strong emotional reactions.
Comment by James MacAonghus — 22 June, 2007 @ 1:07 pm
I like to think we are critical in a constructive way! Look at the “TRG By Invitation” section – lots of positive stuff there…
Comment by Timothy Barnes — 22 June, 2007 @ 4:43 pm
Yes – Quentin Davis apparently.
Comment by Man in a Shed — 26 June, 2007 @ 5:01 pm