Notes on a coup

So that’s that then. At the end of a week in which the country suffered insufferable Arctic temperatures, snow storms, blizzards, ice, more ice and plagues of locusts (well, not quite!), we’re back where we started. It’s like the last seven days never happened.

I’m talking, of course, about the failed attempt to overthrow the Prime Minister, by common consent one of the most comical coups in political history, with various theories being pronounced as to why Hoon-Hewitt didn’t succeed, largely drawing the same conclusions.

Sunder Katwala, writing on the Fabian Society blog, outlines three such reasons: this was a purely Blairite putsch, with no cross-party consensus and no Left-Right alliance; no Cabinet Minister joined Hewitt and Hoon, there was no John Redwood or even a James Purnell to back them up; and the timing was poor, coming in the week the election campaign effectively begun and only four months out from polling day itself.

Paul Richards, on LabourList, writes that the lack of an obvious successor was another key reason the coup didn’t succeed, the prospect of David Miliband, Harriet Harman, Ed Balls or Jon Cruddas in Number Ten sufficient “to scare enough people into acquiescence with the current leadership”, adding that there was no appetite for a contest within the Parliamentary Labour Party.

Left Foot Forward’s Will Straw, meanwhile, dubs the pair of plotters “Labour’s Dumb and Dumber”, pointing out that a change of leader would make little difference to the Government’s prospects, with 82 per cent of voters no more likely to vote Labour than before.

What struck me most forcefully was the sheer weight of condemnation from Labour supporters on Facebook, Twitter and on the blogs, and the speed with which they responded. Viewing this, or even hearing about it second hand, any MPs tempted to join in with Hoon-Hewitt may have thought twice before rebelling and retreaded back into the fold.

For a flavour of the Westminster mood that wintry Wednesday afternoon, have a look at Political Scrapbook’s collection of emails from MPs to the plot ringleaders, and you’ll see what I mean. Within hours, Ministers, back benchers and ordinary members had rallied to the PM’s side. Game over for Hoon and Hewitt. Game on for Gordon Brown.

2010 may not yet be the first internet election, but the week’s events have proved that this interweb-thingy can be a most powerful and effective tool. Just ask Geoff and Patricia.

Simon who?

Westminster’s online movers and shakers were left stymied when asked about Simon Cowell’s plans to X-Factorise politics last night.

There were blank faces all round as the panel of experts at Demos’s “Is the internet really changing politics?” event seemed to shrug “Simon Who?” in response to a question on Cowell’s widely publicised ideas to re-enfranchise the public.

Former Minister for Digital Engagement Tom Watson and the Tories’ Head of New Media Rishi Saha – both of whom have been tasked with getting more people involved in politics – hadn’t a clue about the planned programme, which would involve instant red-button reaction and text votes on a range of big issues with a hotline to number 10.

Outlining his proposals in an interview with the BBC, Cowell had said:

“If you went around the country now there would be five or six big big issues which i think are really really important in people’s lives.

There could be some kind of referendum-type TV show where you can speak on both sides and then open it up to the public to get an instant poll as to how they feel on the hot topics, that kind of show would interest me.

“It’s the sort of thing I’d like to watch beacuse now there are so many really, really, really hot topics and I think, well, for instance, should we or should we [sic] be in Iraq and Afghanistan? If you actually asked most people in the country why are we there, I, I couldn’t even tell you.

“I’m not sure why we’re there. I knew why we were in the falklands, I don’t know why we’re there.”

One might suggest that, if it ever came to pass, he’d probably have to amend a few of his famous put downs.

This article was originally published on Left Foot Forward; you can read my full report on the event in the next issue of Anticipations