Oh dear Phil

Phil Goff went to the lawyers today. More to the point, he went to Chapman Tripp in Auckland to make his last major speech of 2010. It was supposed to be a scenesetter, in readiness for Labour's 2011 election campaign.

Will Phil's speech be remembered for major policy announcements? No, it won't. Will it be remembered for his scintillating oratory? No on that count also. It will be remembered however; for all the wrong reasons; TVNZ reports:

Labour leader Phil Goff became Phil Gaffe today when he got his finance spokesman's name wrong in a major speech about the economy.

During his final major speech of the year, Goff outlined his party's plans to look after what he calls struggling middle New Zealand.

Goff said his "finance spokesperson David Caygill gave an important speech on this a fortnight ago."

However David Caygill was finance minister in the 1980's.

Goff later laughed off his gaff, saying he knew who the actual finance spokesperson was.

"It's a minor detail, I know perfectly well who David Cunliffe is."

It may indeed by a minor detail Phil. But the irony hasn't escaped us. When David CAYGILL was the Minister of Finance, Phil Goff was a Rogernome. It's probably still his natural position. So, on the very day when a letter from the LEC of the Te Atatu electorate was released expressing no confidence in Phil Goff, he reminded the Clarkists where he sits in the broad church which is the Labour caucus.

Phil Goff will not have endeared himself to Labour's left today. We reckon that there will be a few "parties of seventeen" over the summer Parliamentary recess, as Labour MP's unsympathetic to Phil Goff do what the left does best; plots the succession plan. Either Goff will be hung out to dry early in election year, or Labour will go through the motions, and Goff will be rolled when the inevitable defeat comes to pass.

Courtesy of TVNZ, here's the video of this story