Brown Bombs in the Ring

The first poll I saw after the election was called was 40/30/19 in the Tories' favour, and this seems to me to be the likely outcome. The Budget was the last chance to produce a rabbit from the hat, and poor old Darling couldn't even produce a mixy one, so empty was the warren.

The danger for our disgusting PM and his ragged bunch of unconvinced Cabinet supporters was that, once the election was called and Brown no longer so much the Prime Minister, more an incompetent plumber trying to justify his expense and his handiwork, he would not be accorded a great deal of respect.

And so it has proved.

First, the number of CEOs and Chairmen of Britain's best known companies who were prepared to sign the letter making the obvious statement that increasing tax on jobs resulted in, err, less jobs, grew like a snowball. (So far, the Labour party has press-ganged one single business leader, the head of Standard Life, to support their stance. Strangely, he was a privatisation guru to Thatcher all those years ago). In the old days, you'd never have got this number on a letter, but these guys either already have their knighthoods or are happy to assume that Gordon won't be dishing out any more after his dissolution honours list, which seems unlikely, in the current climate of a suspicious electorate, to reward too many people involved in our economy.

Then there was the heckler who accorded the Glorious Leader not a shred of respect yesterday when he demanded why his children couldn't get into their choice of (non-selective) state school. Even called him 'Gordon'. Gordon slunk into his car like a deaf mute and gave no response. When asked the same question during a set interview later in the day, he answered a different question, as is his wont.

And then Humphrys this morning. Brown was treated with disdain. As an ex-PM, in fact. Or as a never-would-be-a-PM like dear old Smiffy in 2001/2. It was truly pathetic. He was pummelled. Couldn't get off the ropes. He could barely raise his hands high enough to defend himself.

He will stumble around the ring like this for another four weeks. He might not go down, but we will all feel like throwing the towel in on his behalf.

No more than 30% of the votes cast will accrue to Brown and his horrid bunch of venal losers.