One word from Murdoch and the PM panicked. That word was 'traitor'

Tony Blair was not meant to stand in the Commons on Tuesday morning being taunted over the biggest policy U-turn in all his years as Prime Minister. He should have been in the basement of No 10 Downing Street, opening a canteen. But Mr Blair could not pop downstairs to sample coffee and doughnuts as he was out eating humble pie in the House, making a surprise announcement which could fundamentally alter Britain's relations with the rest of Europe.

The Prime Minister was buffeted and humiliated last week, and he had a lot of apologising to do - not just to his staff for postponing the official opening of a canteen, but to cabinet ministers for failing to consult them on a major change of policy.

Telephone lines were buzzing last weekend as ministers rang one another, attempting to discover what Mr Blair's policy actually was. Some learnt it from the Prime Minister himself, who talked to the three cabinet heavyweights - Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Chancellor Gordon Brown and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott - and brought John Reid, the Secretary of State for Health, and Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, into the discussions. The Foreign Secretary and the Chancellor were the ones who had argued most forcefully for a change in policy and whose influence has been reinforced as a result of the decision.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=514995

Well, Well.Now we know why Blair behaves the way he does. It isn't really chimpy at all.It is that he is owned by Rupert Murdoch.Whata surprise!

This was huge, and Straw was going to announce it in the commons? It didn't make sense.

Something is up.

This is such a soap opera.

If Fox news turned on Bush it would be deadly to Bush's chance of re-election. So basicly Rupert Murdoch can get anything he wanted from Bush..Thats what you get when you make freinds with the Devil

I must have missed it.

it can't have been that big a deal.

It seems like characterizing it as a reverse is more important than reality.

....is to give the public a referendum on the upcoming EU constitution, instead of Blairs preferred route of driving it through Parliament and The Lords.

Murdoch figures the public won't vote in favour of anything pro-European, thus he's forced Blairs hand by threatening to withdraw support prior to a general election.

Everybody is supposed to know that,...there are those who simply don't give a shit. Right? Guess who always does the most damage?

:bounce: