Plot against PM was 'distraction'

UK

Plot against PM was 'distraction'

Published: January 19 2010 02:00 | Last updated: January 19 2010 02:00

For several hours after the launch of the abortive Labour leadership coup on January 6, Alistair Darling remained hidden from view inside the Treasury, a deafening silence coming from his office.
Gordon Brown had every reason to be worried. The chancellor is a close personal friend of Geoff Hoon, the former Labour chief whip, who conspired with Patricia Hewitt, the former health secretary, to try to oust the prime minister.
Furthermore, Mr Brown tested the loyalty of Mr Darling to its limit the previous summer by trying to sack him. But Mr Darling insists Mr Hoon - a regular dining partner at Kennington's Gandhi restaurant - was wrong. Asked if he knew anything about the bungled plot, he is emphatic: "No, I didn't."
"Had I done so, I would have strongly advised against it, because I thought it was a distraction," he adds. He was too busy speaking to the Icelandic finance minister to take the plot too seriously.
But Mr Darling's criticism of the plot as a "distraction" falls short of condemning it as betrayal of a first-rate prime minister, much as his statement on January 6 stopped short of endorsing Mr Brown's leadership.
The only upside of all of this for Mr Darling is Mr Brown now seems to be sticking more firmly to a script that emphasises the need for cuts and avoids "class war" rhetoric.
This synchronised line is ascribed partly to a frank exchange between Mr Brown and Mr Darling on the day of the attempted coup. The chancellor describes the talks, mainly about the Budget, as "businesslike".
He dislikes suggestions the new 50p rate of tax on earnings above £150,000 represents a "core vote" strategy to redistribute wealth. "I didn't do it as a matter of ideology," he says, suggesting he agrees with Lord Mandelson the measure should be reversed when possible. "We've got to remember to remain competitive. This measure was necessary because of the extraordinary conditions we're going through."

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