Election 2010: Gordon Brown in Weymouth

10:00am Tuesday 27th April 2010 in News By Catherine Bolado

Gordon and Sarah Brown meet shoppers at Asda Gordon and Sarah Brown meet shoppers at Asda

THE Labour Party brought out their biggest gun in the fight for South Dorset yesterday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The Prime Minister was on a whistle-stop tour of Dorset, which saw him visit Bournemouth and Weymouth.

He started his visit with a trip to the Asda superstore in Newstead Road.

Workers at the store as well as local shoppers were on hand to greet Mr Brown and his wife Sarah as they did their bit to support sitting MP Jim Knight’s re-election campaign.

Most people seemed very shocked to see him.

Employee Carole Toplay said that there had been a good atmosphere around the store.

She said: “There’s a lot of buzz around today. It was really good.”

Asda worker Richard Desmond was part of the welcome committee of workers and shoppers who greeted the PM.

He said: “I was the first person to shake his hand. It’s nice to meet someone so famous.”

Colleague Ron Samways said: “It was nice of him to come down here.

He added: “Most voters are still undecided. The more they watch the TV, the more confused they are. It will be tight whichever way it goes.”

Mr Brown took a walk around the store, meeting workers from all sections.

Shopper Janet Kilbourne, of Quibo Lane, Weymouth said: “We were just doing our shopping. I think it’s great to meet him. I really like him and his wife. It’s amazing and I’m personally very happy to meet him.”

Shoppers and workers had their camera phones out to capture the rare glimpse into politics and many were using social networking sites to publicise the visit.

One lady was overheard to say: “I can’t wait to get home and put this on my Facebook status.”

Fellow shopper Peter Reynolds, of Weymouth, said: “It was good to meet him. I trust him more than I trust the other two. He gets a bit of a rough ride, but I’m sure he can take it.”

The Prime Minister then went on to give a speech to Asda workers in the store’s warehouse, where workers were given the chance to quiz the PM on the issues that most mattered to them. He congratulated workers on being the top-selling Asda branch in the UK. The store sells more goods per square foot than any other store.

The PM then took questions from Asda workers on child tax credits, petrol prices and the security of university places.

But it wasn’t all serious politics.

Shop worker Kim Llewellyn asked Mr Brown what was the strangest thing he had done to raise money for charity and Mr Brown said he had done a run for Sport Relief, but admitted: “I am not as fit as I should be.”

The PM then asked what the staff had done to raise money and one person said they had sat in a bath of jelly.

MP Jim Knight said that on one occasion staff had convinced him to dress up as a wizard and join them on a sponsored run on a treadmill at the front of the store.

On meeting Mr Brown, Mrs Llewellyn said: “It’s nice to think that someone so high up makes the time to come to our store.”

Comments(41)

Trackerman says...
10:04am Tue 27 Apr 10

Jim Knight is on his way out. Slip sliding away!

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fortuneswell says...
10:20am Tue 27 Apr 10

Trackerman wrote:
Jim Knight is on his way out. Slip sliding away!
You could be in for a shock.

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Kim Jong-Il says...
10:27am Tue 27 Apr 10

Jim's been a popular MP for the area. If the Tories lose Dorset South, it's been a huge missed opportunity - they've known who their candidate is for four years, and he's done next to nothing to raise the party profile.

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biggestoaf says...
11:06am Tue 27 Apr 10

The Tories can't afford to raise their profile because the more voters who meet Richard Drax the less likely they are to win the seat!

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CHEVAL says...
11:30am Tue 27 Apr 10

What does Mr Drax esq (cant remember the myriad other names) know about ordinary working people - his family have owned half of Dorset in the past and probably a good chunk in the present. Do his children go to state schools? Does he have to worry about whether there is enough money in his pension fund? Enough already - I'm sick of party politics, but Jim Knight has done very well for the people in his constituency and has integrity - he gets my vote.

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I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY DON'T LIKE THE NEW ECHO WEBSITE says...
12:14pm Tue 27 Apr 10

A true dilemma for voters- do they vote for:
.
Jim Knight, who has not been a disaster, but is a bit of a lap dog. Also, a vote for Jim Knight is a vote for Gordon Brown (who IS a disaster), Peter Mandelson et al. If I was Jim Knight, I would have been livid that Gordon Brown visited the area.
.
Richard Drax- talks the talk but does he have the connection with the "common people" as I can't really see a single mother of 4 in Littlemoor having a lot of time for him. Also, not a greal deal is known about his policies and ideas (although you could always look at his website?)
.
Ros Kayes- again, fairly unknown, but could be popular with floating voters who want rid of Gordon Brown but not convinced by the Tories. Could also win a lot of female votes?
.
I think that it will be a very close race and impossible to predict.
.
I just wish that there was a political party that combined all the best bits of all political parties- surely everyone wants a good NHS, an effective immigration policy, low crime levels, reasonable taxation, less red tape and bureaucracy, improved education levels, increased recycling and less waste, less people on benefits and more people in work (OK, maybe not EVERYONE wants this!)
.
Maybe I am being idealistic, but I cannot see why the above are not possible. Sure, there are going to be people that disagree, but the airports and ferries are there if they want.

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weypaul says...
12:17pm Tue 27 Apr 10

Yes, vote Labour (as encouraged by our o-so-neutral echo) for another five years of lies, deception, higher taxes and financial crisis.

If Labour wins, immigration wont be a problem; emigration will. Anybody with any talent will be moving abroad to avoid the culture of jealousy and redistribution currently building up a head of steam over here.

Pass the sick bag

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Tremendous Eddie Tremendouson says...
12:21pm Tue 27 Apr 10

I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY DON'T LIKE THE NEW ECHO WEBSITE wrote:
A true dilemma for voters- do they vote for: . Jim Knight, who has not been a disaster, but is a bit of a lap dog. Also, a vote for Jim Knight is a vote for Gordon Brown (who IS a disaster), Peter Mandelson et al. If I was Jim Knight, I would have been livid that Gordon Brown visited the area. . Richard Drax- talks the talk but does he have the connection with the "common people" as I can't really see a single mother of 4 in Littlemoor having a lot of time for him. Also, not a greal deal is known about his policies and ideas (although you could always look at his website?) . Ros Kayes- again, fairly unknown, but could be popular with floating voters who want rid of Gordon Brown but not convinced by the Tories. Could also win a lot of female votes? . I think that it will be a very close race and impossible to predict. . I just wish that there was a political party that combined all the best bits of all political parties- surely everyone wants a good NHS, an effective immigration policy, low crime levels, reasonable taxation, less red tape and bureaucracy, improved education levels, increased recycling and less waste, less people on benefits and more people in work (OK, maybe not EVERYONE wants this!) . Maybe I am being idealistic, but I cannot see why the above are not possible. Sure, there are going to be people that disagree, but the airports and ferries are there if they want.
UKIP then?

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heinrich says...
1:01pm Tue 27 Apr 10

Gordon Brown has promised to
re-establish the link between
wages and pensions broken by
Margaret Thatchers government
What he or his party has said is
that this goverment adopted
Thatchers pension policy when
they came to power and we
pensioners have been living with the consequences ever since.

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heinrich says...
1:08pm Tue 27 Apr 10

PS to the previous comment
should have read"has not said"
The decision to adopt the policy
was taken by the delegates at the Labour Party conference in
1996 and was incorporated into
Government policy up to day

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readboy says...
1:28pm Tue 27 Apr 10

The consequences of the current Labour government have yet to be felt. Currently government spends 48% of GDP but only recieves 39% in taxes. Taxes have to rise by 9% or cuts to the public sector/benefits of 18% will be required to begin to balance the books. If you want to vote for a continuation of that then I hope you get exactly what you deserve.

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staffs says...
2:17pm Tue 27 Apr 10

First John Prescott, now Gordon Brown.

Are the Labour party deliberatley trying to ruin Jim Knights chances?

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muttleyhanna says...
2:30pm Tue 27 Apr 10

staffs wrote:
First John Prescott, now Gordon Brown.

Are the Labour party deliberatley trying to ruin Jim Knights chances?
I wonder if Mr Knight picked up a food processor while he was in Asda? - we, the tax payers, have not had to buy him one lately.

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pasty kernow says...
2:37pm Tue 27 Apr 10

why the hell visit asda? is this the main meeting point for weymouthonians? ....ahh, i see...cheap rubbish food=cheap rubbish PM!

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Kim Jong-Il says...
2:39pm Tue 27 Apr 10

pasty kernow wrote:
why the hell visit asda? is this the main meeting point for weymouthonians? ....ahh, i see...cheap rubbish food=cheap rubbish PM!
I trust Mr Cameron will only get as far as Waitrose in Dorchester, then. Posh & overpriced.

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Dispirited says...
2:47pm Tue 27 Apr 10

Ruth Kelly just moved to a 1.8 million pound house so she can get her children into a better school. Mr Balls his father was instrumental in closing every grammar school in Norfolk. Mr Balls went to a private school. The Kinnocks both wanted the House of Lords abolished then when offered their piece of ermine ran towards it as fast as their little legs could carry them. Diane Abbott, son went to private school. Harriet Harman sent one of her sons to a grammar school in Kent. .
Can one honestly say that these MP,s understand the ordinary people.
Get real! Hypocrites comes to mind.
For the record I am a floating voter and try not to see any particuliar party through rose tinted glasses, unlike some.

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fortuneswell says...
2:53pm Tue 27 Apr 10

So we all know that thanks to our *ankers and the global recession we are in the doo doo and we all know that will affect us all in one way or another so hard choices have to be made by whoever gets in, but look at the facts as soon as Mr Clegg was perceived to be a threat people started looking at the man and his policies and didn’t like what they saw ever since then he has been on a downward spiral. As for Mr Cameron and his policies we don’t know that much about his policies because they seem to keep them very close to their chest and just react to the other parties polices, as for the man I think he is a bigger slime ball than Nick Clegg neither men know anything about the dare I say working class. Fair enough Gordon Brown might not be everybody’s cup of tea but he has got balls and that is what this country needs, he has taken some very tough decisions over the last couple of years and as a result we are now slowly on the mend. And as for Jim Knight he has done a lot for the area and the best place for Mr. Drax is to stay behind his brick walls for all our sakes.

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Wykey says...
3:00pm Tue 27 Apr 10

What no mention in the Echo of the lady in the green Top who told Mrs B that the clown looked ill.

That said they chose to ignore her. Shame a few residents just ignored Mr Brown the useless moron.

As for Jim Knight being a good MP dont make me laugh. All he is interested in is lauding it as a Minister.

Kick him out and Kick Brown into touch and then he can become a Lord.

Oh sorry I forgot he wants to ban the Lords being nominated doesnt he?

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weypaul says...
3:12pm Tue 27 Apr 10

Gordon Brown has taken tough decisions? Excuse me while I get up off the floor! G. Brown, chancellor, assured us that he had abolished the boom and bust cycle. He based his economic policies on the assumption of permanent growth, justifying an enormous deficit in the good times. Any creed of economics will tell you that you have to run a surplus in the good times so there are some reserves WHEN not if the downturn arrives. Instead, our GB indulged in an unaffordable public splending splurge, to no real benefit, which we as a nation now do not have the money to pay for. The only tough decisions - on the banks - were probably the right ones, but were dictated by the civil servants who, unlike GB, understood the issue.
GB's policy is akin to a family living solely on its credit card and as a result our economy, as stated by inter alia the IMF and the BIS, is now a basket case worse than Italy and spain and only marginally better than Greece.
And you want more of the same?
Or the even more loony economic policies of the Liberal Democrats?
Sigh.....

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biggestoaf says...
3:31pm Tue 27 Apr 10

Presumably Weypaul wants a Conservative government which will give an inheritance tax pay-off of £200000 to each of the 3000 richest families in the country whilst introducing top-up fees for nurseries?

It's clear where their economic priorities lie - with the wealthy and privileged as usual.

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readboy says...
4:02pm Tue 27 Apr 10

Gordon Brown is incompetant, did you know he sold half of all the UK's gold reserves at $270 per ounce. It would now be worth $1200 per ounce. The chump lost the citizens of the UK £3.3bn. If he were my personal financial advisor I would sue him.

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CHEVAL says...
4:06pm Tue 27 Apr 10

Well-said Kim Jong - posh and overpriced, couldnt have put it better myself. I prefer Asda.

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weypaul says...
5:18pm Tue 27 Apr 10

Oaf, can you give me chapter and verse. I cannot find any refernce to this so called tax give away in the conservative manifesto

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weypaul says...
5:19pm Tue 27 Apr 10

And lets face it, Dear Gordon is only going to meet Labour voters in Asda, so he was safe there. If he really wanted to meet floaters, he should have gone to Morrisons. Lots of liberals there, especially at the lentil counter

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heinrich says...
5:42pm Tue 27 Apr 10

I see that people wonder if
Richard Drax knows anything about "ordinary people"have you all forgotten everything about this slease ridden parliarment so soon?and there
is unelected Comrade Lord
Mandelson or Shaun woodward
Labour minister a multi-millionaire married to a Guiness
heiress,or Lady Margaret Hodge
just to name a few.These are
supposed to belong to what was
a party of the working class.
We must not forget multi-millionaire Tony Blair must we.

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Genghis says...
8:24pm Tue 27 Apr 10

What's the difference between any of the political parties? None. They're all as corrupt as each other. MPs of all political parties have been milking the system for their own benefit and advancement. Not just in the reign of this last Labour government and their thirteen year fiasco but also during the seventeen years of Tory rule before that. The corruption has most probably been rife ever since Parliament was set up. The result of the next election is guaranteed - a bunch of greedy parasites will continue to bleed this country dry, individual faces may change but the system and it's inbuilt corruption will remain. Vote for change? There won't be any regardless of who gets in.

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CHEVAL says...
8:25am Wed 28 Apr 10

I would hazard a guess that Jim Knight and Ros Kayes know a bit more about the backbone of this country (hardworking ordinary people) and their problems than Richard Drax.

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Dispirited says...
9:09am Wed 28 Apr 10

Cheval. You only hazard a guess that Jim Knight and Ros Kayes know a bit more about the backbone of this country. Thats the problem one should not hazard a guess. Its because people assume we get Parliaments unrepresentive of the country as a whole. Any critcism of an individual should be on fact. What factual evidence do you have that R. Drax knows nothing of hard working people.

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potterguy says...
9:40am Wed 28 Apr 10

well said dispirited I agree with you. If people want to find out what drax knows about working people all you need to do is contact him and I am sure he will happily answer any questions.

P.S. tomorrows debate will happen at the University of Birminghams great hall. As a stuent there we recieved an email telling us to stay away from there tomorrow due to a high security event that was secrect though we all knew what it was

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fortuneswell says...
9:48am Wed 28 Apr 10

It is thanks to a certain Mrs Thatcher that we have next to no industry in this country it is also thanks to her that all of the major companies are foreign owned we also have to thank her for selling off our council houses and the list goes on, that woman and her party done more to ruin this country than Hitler ever did, the Germans may have lost the war but now they are buying us bit by bit all thanks to a policy started by Mrs Thatcher. For many years I voted conservative as I mistakenly believe that if my employer and the money people were doing well then so would I, but how wrong was I at the end of the day the only people they look after is themselves. Politicians of all parties have been proven to be liars cheats and fraudsters and in it for what they can get out of it, local council is the nursery school where you learn how to cheat and fiddle and being an M.P is the top of the ladder but I would sooner have a Labour cheat than anything else.

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potterguy says...
10:09am Wed 28 Apr 10

Its thanks to the last lib-lab pack in 1977 that we have no industry when thatcher took over the country had just been bailed out by the IMF because of the lib-lab pack and she then had to get tough to save the economy. And in the last 10 years or so it labour who have been cutting any industry we have left

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K9 says...
11:53am Wed 28 Apr 10

"THE Labour Party brought out their biggest gun... Prime Minister Gordon Brown."

Biggest liability. Why won't he release the papers showing the Treasury's advice to him before he sold all our gold at the market bottom? Now known as "Brown's Bottom" by traders?

He's held the purse strings for the 13 years we've had this Labour Government. Recall how he kept changing his "Golden Rule" to lie about breaking it?

He claims it's a global financial meltdown. It wasn't. It was a US + UK one caused by both countries having the same borrow and spend policies. The US dollar is still the world's reserve currency so they won't have to call in the IMF. Wonder if Brown's got their number on speed-dial?

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potterguy says...
12:02pm Wed 28 Apr 10

its interesting to note that out of the three main parties the labour party is the only one note to show mr brown in their election broadcasts. That tells you something doesnt it

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franchise says...
3:07pm Wed 28 Apr 10

Fortuneswell:
"I would sooner have a Labour cheat than anything else".
????????????????????
????????????
This needs some clarification surely?

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muttleyhanna says...
3:26pm Wed 28 Apr 10

I wonder how many "bigoted woman" Mr Brown found in Asda? - Its really good to know what he thinks of Labour voters!

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weypaul says...
4:13pm Wed 28 Apr 10

Yes, but lets face it none of us ever thought GB was decent legal and honest so its hardly news, is it.

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bootedsw says...
12:48am Thu 29 Apr 10

It was interesting reading my postal vote and seeing those who want to represent us that don't actually live in our area. Surely to actually do the job properly a grasp of the issues helps if you live here.

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fortuneswell says...
9:52am Thu 29 Apr 10

franchise wrote:
Fortuneswell:
"I would sooner have a Labour cheat than anything else".
????????????????????

????????????
This needs some clarification surely?
You can’t trust any of them that has been proven by the expenses scandal and no party listens to the people and what the people want for our country, just about everybody will tell you that one of our biggest problems is immigration but not one party will deal with it effectively, one way to get us out of the mire would be to scrap family allowances and convert it to tax credits so that only those that need it get it, but no its to bigger vote catcher so the first thing all parties do is increase money for children which is crazy in an overpopulated country there is no need for anybody to have children they can’t afford, why are we paying healthy people not to work these are the things we should be looking at. Instead the average hard working man/woman are facing tough times while the lazy get lazier, nobody and I mean nobody should get any kind of benefit until they have paid into the system for a minimum of five years and then it should be on a sliding scale. Some of the youngsters that don’t work will soon become unemployable because they will have no understanding of work ethic. So there is no party that represents my views but as I have to make a choice even if you include the Liberals I only have a choice of three and I consider the Labour party to be the best of a bad bunch.

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potterguy says...
10:10am Thu 29 Apr 10

but fortuneswell it is the current labour government that has casued the people on benifits to get lazier and lazier by making it pay more to stay on benifits then it is to go out and get a job

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praha says...
7:09pm Sat 1 May 10

I had to get kiti-kat and some laxitives and missed Gordy. Maybe at next election, it seemed very exciting; fantastic stuff.

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johnmerc says...
10:41pm Mon 3 May 10

to be perfectly honest, im so shallow that i vote for the candidate with the best hand movements, so far nick clegg is doing it for me

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