Should David Cameron resign?

[DTES]

Didn't most of this happen when Brown and Miliband were in power..

You are of course right that Brown was just as guilty of cosying up to News International, but Cameron was the only one stupid enough to invite Coulson into Downing Street.

Of course nobody in the country wants to admit it but, on this particular issue, the only party to be genuinely in the right all the way through are the Liberal Democrats. Maybe Clegg should be the new PM if Cameron goes... (gets tin hat and ducks for cover)

 

[Simster]

I can't believe anyone is stupid enough to think Labour come out well in all of this. It always felt to me that Blair was asking either asking Murdoch's opinion or asking for his backing before every major policy decision. As for Ed Milliband, he just makes me cringe every time he opens his mouth.

 

[ROSM]

eh? first of all, you contradict yourself, dont think he can survive but will stay in power

secondly, after a breif flourish, it became apparent that poor Brown was in bed with Team Murdoch just as much as Blair (and apparently more than Cameron), with close personal relations, which led him to do nothing though he now claims he was advised agasint (which implies weakness... dont buy that).

Miliband doesn't come out well, merely untarnished.

Blair was most likely as involved with Murdoch as the current Tory party are. Brown I think time will porve was not as much so. As I wrote on here previously, his friendship with Brooks was severely damaged as he has become aware of the deceit she used when dealing with him over the family stories. I firmly believe it will be proven that there is more to this than the member of the public breaking the story because he wanted to improve the focus on cystic fibrosis sufferers. The Sun rarely prints a story on a member of the publics hearsay. They will have wanted proof and dug til they got it.

I have heard that the reason why Milliband has challenged Cameron to reveal details of all meetings with News International leading up to the last general election is because he has been tipped off that there is some mud in that and that the labour party side is pretty clean on it (basically because Brown was not having cosy chats and doping deals with any paper as tghey saw him a dead duck).

In answer to the original question, I dont think he should resign unless one or both of the folloiwng scenarios is proven;

- that Coulson was aware of/involved in payments to police and / or phone hacking and that Cameron knew about it

- that the tory party gained from information provided by the very methods now being investigated

 

[The Large One]

I can't believe anyone is stupid enough to think Labour come out well in all of this. It always felt to me that Blair was asking either asking Murdoch's opinion or asking for his backing before every major policy decision. As for Ed Milliband, he just makes me cringe every time he opens his mouth.

It's not so much Labour coming out well, it's more the Tories coming out worse.

Bearing in mind Labour AND Conservative cosied up to him, the past couple of weeks (yes, that's all it is) has really been the case as to who has been seen to run away from Murdoch the quickest. Having said that, Cameron's case isn't helped by employing someone - against advice - who is slap bang in the middle of the story.

It's just Labour's smoking gun is buried that bit deeper.

 

[The Spanish]

I can't believe anyone is stupid enough to think Labour come out well in all of this. It always felt to me that Blair was asking either asking Murdoch's opinion or asking for his backing before every major policy decision. As for Ed Milliband, he just makes me cringe every time he opens his mouth.

i dont think many people are still at a party political level about this to be fair. this is just like the expenses row, these out of touch wallies continue to insult the british public by point scoring, thinking the moo-ing electorate is hanging on their every word and will be swayed by a well crafted article or media coached appearance. this is why this is all happening you thick arrogant cnts, the patient and tolerant british public are finally fed up with the the mind boggling amount of manipulative and deceitful crap churned out of our institutions whether its from the police media or parliament. yet still they jabber on and point at each other like the self absorbed mongs they are.

sorry if that post sounds like one of those loony know all anarchist blogs that generally shout to no one in the internet darkness, but you do feel for the conspiracy theorists at times like these when you think there may be something only slightly less mental in it.

 

[beorhthelm]

Brown I think time will porve was not as much so. As I wrote on here previously, his friendship with Brooks was severely damaged as he has become aware of the deceit she used when dealing with him over the family stories.

so damaged they kept on inviting Brooks round for tea/parties in the years after the story about this son?

 

[The Large One]

i dont think many people are still at a party political level about this to be fair. this is just like the expenses row, these out of touch wallies continue to insult the british public by point scoring, thinking the moo-ing electorate is hanging on their every word and will be swayed by a well crafted article or media coached appearance. this is why this is all happening you thick arrogant cnts, the patient and tolerant british public are finally fed up with the the mind boggling amount of manipulative and deceitful crap churned out of our institutions whether its from the police media or parliament. yet still they jabber on and point at each other like the self absorbed mongs they are.

sorry if that post sounds like one of those loony know all anarchist blogs that generally shout to no one in the internet darkness, but you do feel for the conspiracy theorists at times like these when you think there may be something only slightly less mental in it.

Don't be. It's the most pertinent and coherent thing you've ever said.

 

[Simster]

My other thought on the matter is that whilst this is a big(ish) story, it is being made far bigger than it really is because it is centred around grubby journalists and journalism. And who is reporting this? Other journalists, many with a big axe to grind, all too happy to dig up pissed off celebs (like Coogan and Grant) to do their ranting for them.

Some of these journos need to take a step back and realise that there are millions at risk of dying of hunger in the horn of Africa. To be honest, I can't help feeling that story matters a bit more.

 

[ROSM]

Having said that, Cameron's case isn't helped by employing someone - against advice - who is slap bang in the middle of the story.

It's just Labour's smoking gun is buried that bit deeper.

Simster has a very valid point. Blair was too far involved with Murdoch however Blair was also being roundly criticised by the Murdoch press for much of his time in office (Richard Littlejohn and Trevor kavanagh for example) so no matter how in he may have been with the board of NI, the rank and file journos didnt follow. basically because of Alistair campbell's spell at Mirror and his frequent punch ups with Murdoch journos during his booze fuelled years.

cameron employed coulson despite what seems like 3 fleets street senior editors (one liberal, one left wing and one very right wing) telling him there were skeletons in the cupboard and to stand well clear. So Coulson may have presented the common touch to cameron and made him electable, he may well have got the tabloid journos onside and kept them there and he was a superb in to Murdoch who was very unsure about backing cameron. Only time will tell if the benefit has been outweighed by the negatives

 

[DTES]

My other thought on the matter is that whilst this is a big(ish) story, it is being made far bigger than it really is because it is centred around grubby journalists and journalism. And who is reporting this? Other journalists, many with a big axe to grind, all too happy to dig up pissed off celebs (like Coogan and Grant) to do their ranting for them.

Some of these journos need to take a step back and realise that there are millions at risk of dying of hunger in the horn of Africa. To be honest, I can't help feeling that story matters a bit more.

While your second paragraph is undoubtedly true, I think your first kind of ignores the allegations that this involves police corruption, and the hacking of children's medical records. No, it doesn't compare the stories in Africa, but much more serious than a few pissed off celebs...

 

[ROSM]

so damaged they kept on inviting Brooks round for tea/parties in the years after the story about this son?

I have heard that they only found out the level of deceit in the last 6 months - and that is from a very reliable contact of the Browns.

 

[somerset]

Would love him to piss off and see the whole ConDem thing collapse but it wont happen. Also I am afraid we need a stronger Labour leader to put the boot into these Tory dickheads.

Yes of course, what we need is another 13 years of shagging the economy and opening our borders to more vodka brewing eastern europeans,..... "we'll keep the red flag flying......"

 

[The Spanish]

Don't be. It's the most pertinent and coherent thing you've ever said.

if only that was the most patronising thing you had.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Yes of course, what we need is another 13 years of shagging the economy and opening our borders to more vodka brewing eastern europeans,..... "we'll keep the red flag flying......"

go on, mention the gold

 

[Simster]

While your second paragraph is undoubtedly true, I think your first kind of ignores the allegations that this involves police corruption, and the hacking of children's medical records. No, it doesn't compare the stories in Africa, but much more serious than a few pissed off celebs...

Maybe I didn't explain my beef with this.

The hacking into the likes of Millie Dowler's phone was beyond the pale and very much in the public interest, so too was the extent to which NI and the Met were in cahoots. Finally, the hounding of Coulsdon has exposed the hypocrisy of NI, brilliantly - they love to hound institutions where a grunt has made poor decisions and DEMAND that the person at the top pay for this outrage with his job. Funny how that didn't happen here isn't it? Two weeks of Couldson "explanation" followed by a £3m pay off was what happened.

But really, do I expect Cameron to lose his job over this? No. It's absurd. Who even thought that was an idea worthy of consideration? Do I need to see another ranting celeb squaring up to a two bob hack made good over the rights and wrongs of the red tops? Of course not, nothing is going to change once this blows over. It's the over exposure around the periphery of the story that is getting on my tits.

 

[The Large One]

if only that was the most patronising thing you had.

Ooh, humour.

 

[Seagull27]

Of course nobody in the country wants to admit it but, on this particular issue, the only party to be genuinely in the right all the way through are the Liberal Democrats. Maybe Clegg should be the new PM if Cameron goes... (gets tin hat and ducks for cover)

If they hadn't f***ed up so royally with the tuition fees etc, plus how much interest and momentum they were beginning to draw in the election last year, they really could have benefitted a lot from all of this. Shame.

 

[Tooting Gull]

opening our borders to more vodka brewing eastern europeans,.."

Is that supposed to be an insult? And it's DISTILLING...

 

[beorhthelm]

I have heard that they only found out the level of deceit in the last 6 months - and that is from a very reliable contact of the Browns.

well that doesnt add up with the points he was making in his speech last week saying he would done more about NI but was advised against it. Brown is being very duplicitous on the matter.

 

[deakers]

As Stephenson and Yates have resigned for employing the man working under Coulson, Cameron's position is becoming increasingly untenable for me.