Of Course It's Not A U-Turn!

Never mind what the right-wing press and Trotskyite BBC say about Gordon. All he's done is to listen to the bona fide concerns of a few of his parliamentary colleagues and ask Alistair to make some minor adjustments to the budget in order to close a couple of relatively small but nonetheless irritating loopholes that would otherwise have resulted in one or two poorer people losing out in the Government's annual bonanza.

That's not a U-turn. Backing down over support for the ending of non-contributory pensions for Unite members at the Grangemouth oil refinery would be a U-turn. Demanding that his local petrol station in Kirkcaldy reverse its 25% petrol price rise in the face of a panic market would be a U-turn. Increasing the teachers' pay offer to more than the measly 7.05% over 3 years currently on offer would be a U-turn.

Reversing the decision to fly a red and white flag over 10 Downing Street to celebrate the martyrdom of a Turkish officer in the Roman army who refused to massacre Christians would be a U-turn. Not conspiring with others to force the PM's resignation and bring the country out of the misery of Tony Blair and into the sunshine of Gordon Brown would be a U-turn. No bloody chance. As Brillo observed on The Daily Politics today - the Laddie's Not For Turning!