Balanced News Blog

Haroon Siddique
The Guardian

A Labour candidate delivered a blow to the party’s election campaign today, describing Gordon Brown as the worst prime minister the UK has ever had.

Manish Sood, the party’s candidate for the safe Tory seat of Norfolk North West, made the comments in an interview with his local paper, the Lynn News, the day after the prime minister was praised for giving what many believed to be his best speech of the campaign.

Labour was hoping the speech at the Citizens UK forum yesterday would mark a turning point in the campaign, but Sood’s comments have returned the focus to Brown’s leadership.

“The loss of social values is the basic problem and this is not what the Labour party is about,” said Sood.

“I believe Gordon Brown has been the worst prime minister we have had in this country. It is a disgrace and he owes an apology to the people and the Queen.”

Sood was unrepentant about the remarks this morning, giving interviews to Sky and the BBC in which he stood by his comments.

He said people “have no respect for the government” and warned that the political system was moving towards “anarchy”. Sood condemned Brown for raising national insurance contributions close to a general election and for high petrol prices. “All the policies he’s bringing in are totally disastrous,” he told Sky News.

In an interview with BBC News, Sood said:

“I could do a better job than him [Brown]. He needs to go on holiday and give me a chance to take over.”

Despite his comments about the prime minister and Labour, Sood insisted he was committed to the party and dedicated to reforming it from within.

“One by one, I am going to scan and clean up the whole system,” he said. “We really have to come down hard on the Labour party … and the prime minister really does have to wake up.”

Sood told the Lynn News that he wanted Britain to return to how it was in the 1970s. He said the Queen should have more respect and suggested bringing back the death penalty.

Read more at The Guardian »