Tony Blair's "New Labour" Takes Old-Fashioned Beating

In the local council and European Parliament elections, Tony Blair's "New Labour" showed that the British electorate has had just about all it can stand. Based on projections by the BBC, Labour's share of the vote places it third behind the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Despite this, the big-shots in the party still back Mr. Blair -- naturally so, if they expect to get pounded in next year's general election.

The local elections are always a time for the protest vote. They serve the same function in Britain as mid-term elections do in the States; they give the people a chance to vote for the opposition without actually forcing an uncomfortable change in government.

The European Parliamentary elections are even odder, since they are elections held for an assembly a great many Britons don't support at all, and most don't support in its present form. The biggest news here is the rise of the UK Independence Party, which essentially doesn't want to stay in the EU. Europe is not popular as a political entity in the UK, and Labour truly suffered for it.

However, the immediate statements of support for the Prime Minister from Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Chancellor Gordon Brown are to be expected. There is a general election due next spring, and Tony Blair is the issue. His Iraq policy has brought him low in the esteem of the voters, and that explains much of this miserable finish.

If Mr. Blair were to leave now, his successor (either Mr. Brown or Mr. Prescott) would get to fight an election with all of his baggage in tow. Far better, from a careerist viewpoint, to let Mr. Blair lose the next election and depart as leader of the party. Then, his successor can plot a way back to power. And should Mr. Blair actually win in 2005, there will be no future for a senior member of the Party who didn't back him to the hilt.


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


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