Gordon Brown 'bigot' row overshadows last TV debate

Posted on Thursday, April 29, 2010

Gordon Brown's preparations for the final TV debate have been over-shadowed by negative headlines after he called a pensioner he had met "bigoted".

The Labour leader has apologised to Gillian Duffy from Rochdale, for his comment, which was caught on a microphone.

The BBC's Nick Robinson said Mr Brown would be keen to move on and focus on the economy ahead of the BBC debate.

Mr Brown will face David Cameron and Nick Clegg in Birmingham later.

'Disaster'

The party leaders are expected to spend much of the day preparing for the debate, which will focus on the economy and is being screened on BBC One at 2030 BST.

On Wednesday the Scottish National Party failed in a legal bid to stop the debate being broadcast in Scotland, if they were not represented.

'BIGOTED' JIBE COVERAGE Nick Robinson: 'That was a disaster' Profile of the woman behind row Transcripts: All the exchanges Analysis: Why it matters Your views on Brown's comment In pictures: how it unfolded Eyewitness: PM's day of horror Brown's apology to activists

Conservative leader David Cameron is to visit a hospital and discuss his party's plans to create a £200m cancer drugs fund, while Nick Clegg is to focus on Liberal Democrat plans to help older people.

Anticipating the debate, Mr Brown told activists: "You have seen me in one context on the TV [today]. I hope [tomorrow] you see once more someone not just proud to be your leader but also someone who understands the economic challenges we face."

Mrs Duffy, a life-long Labour supporter, challenged Mr Brown on issues including immigration from eastern Europe and the national debt. Afterwards Mr Brown, who was still wearing a broadcast microphone, was heard to tell an aide that the meeting "was a disaster" and call Mrs Duffy a "bigoted woman".

'Dreadful mistake'

He went to the pensioner's house to apologise in person and emerged to say that he had made a mistake and "misunderstood" some of the words she had used.

Mrs Duffy has not made any public comment since Mr Brown's 40-minute visit to her home although it is reported she is being advised by a public relations firm.

When she was first told about Mr Brown's comments, Mrs Duffy said she was "very upset" as she had only asked questions which "anyone would ask".

Mrs Duffy said she will no longer be voting Labour

In an e-mail to Labour members Mr Brown said he regretted the "hurt" he had caused Mrs Duffy who he said was "the kind of person I came into politics to help".

Senior Labour figures acknowledged the incident was a setback for Labour, eight days before the 6 May election, but stressed Mr Brown did not mean what he said and wished he had not said it.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson told the BBC immigration was not "off limits", Mrs Duffy represented a "large swathe" of voters and had been an "innocent victim".

But he said most people said things in private they later regretted and it was to Mr Brown's credit that he went to apologise face to face to Mrs Duffy.

"Gordon's not slick, he's not one of these people who gets up in the morning in a kind of sophisticated approach to politics," he said.

"He's a very human person, we all know that. This was a dreadful mistake, there's no getting around that but we will get on tonight to talking about the economy and the important issues."

Polls

The opposition parties have refrained from commenting on the episode in detail, the Conservatives saying it spoke for itself and the Lib Dems saying Mr Brown had been right to apologise.

But former Conservative leader Michael Howard told the BBC's Campaign Show it was damaging for Labour as it showed they could not accept any legitimate criticism over immigration policy.

Ex-Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy said "in the minds of some it will do damage" to Mr Brown but he thought attention would quickly move on to Thursday's debate.

Complaining about not being given a place in the debate, SNP leader Alex Salmond told the BBC: "I think it's unfair to the SNP, I think it's unfair for Scotland.. There are underlying principles here of access and fairness which have to be thought through and debated properly."

The latest polls - carried out before Wednesday's encounter - continue to suggest a hung Parliament remains a possibility.

A Comres poll for the Independent/ITV News put the Conservatives up three points on 36%, Labour unchanged on 29% and the Lib Dems down three at 26%. A YouGov poll for the Sun, meanwhile, puts the Tories up a point on 34%, the Lib Dems up three points on 31% and Labour down two points to 27%.