Tony Blair promised yesterday that he would stand down in the next few weeks. He is expected to announce his resignation next Wednesday or Thursday in a last minute attempt to avoid a substantial protest vote against labour in the mid-term elections tomorrow.
Put the champagne on ice ... it's almost time to celebrate, or is it? Blair endorsed Gordon Brown as his successor ending months of speculation as to whether he wanted the Chancellor to take over or would prefer another member of the Cabinet to succeed him. The question is, do we seriously expect Brown to be any better?
It will be interesting to see the results of the election. Blair obviously has his concerns. He fears that disillusioned Labour voters intend to give Labour a "kicking" because they are angry with him over issues such as Iraq. This fear is not without basis. Blair and "new labour" have managed to create an environment in which the voting public are disillusioned, angry and have lost faith in the labour government they, at one point, enthusiastically supported.
Blair began his day of saying farewell with an appearance on GMTV where he said,"I'll make my position clear next week, I'll say something definitive then."
Approximately seven weeks after Mr Blair resigns, an electoral college will be held, almost certainly in London, attended by delegates from unions and other affiliated organisations, constituency Labour parties, MPs and Euro MPs. That timetable would see Mr Blair going to Buckingham Palace formally to resign on Monday July 2, with his successor being invited to form a government by the Queen shortly afterwards.
According to a poll for BBC 2's Newsnight programme last night almost three quarters of voters think there should be a general election when Mr Blair steps down. Those who want an early election include more than half of Labour voters (52 per cent) who took part in the poll.
Mr Brown has rejected calls for an early general election. Of course Brown has rejected calls for an early election as he knows he would not win. The British public are almost as disillusioned with Brown as they are with Blair. If Brown truly wanted to do what is best for the country he would let the voters decide. Unfortunately, Brown would much rather do what is best for Brown.
1 comment:
I could use similar arguments over Margaret Thatcher's enforced resignation in 1990. To be honest I think it's very likely an election will be called earlier than the cynics think and that this is all a red herring, or should I say blue! ;)
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