Brown Crowned King of New Labour

A long time ago, in a restaurant far, far away (or at least in Islington, London), Gordon Brown and Tony Blair agreed to take turns running the UK. Mr. Blair got to go first, and frankly, he took much too long a turn. Mr. Brown chaffed and simmered, but he largely kept his cool, filling in his time by running the British economy competently if not brilliantly. Now that Mr. Blair is leaving office (in just 40 more days), Mr. Brown is set to govern. He took one step closer to that goal this week when no other candidate in the Labour Party to muster enough support to win nomination for the party leader’s job. Thus, Mr. Brown becomes leader, running unopposed.

In recent years, the rules by which Labour governs itself have become less arcane (union bloc votes are much different from the way they used to be) and more transparent. Any candidate who gets 45 or more members of parliament as supporters may stand for election (only Americans run for office) as leader or deputy leader. Those with such support then face off in an election that includes votes from party members, trade unionists, Labour MPs and Labour European Parliament members. With 313 Labour MPs backing him out of 353 total, Mr. Brown has prevented any other member of the party from securing the 45 needed to oppose him.

There will be a contest for deputy leader, however, a position of dubious value and influence. Candidates for that post are International Development Secretary Hilary Benn, backbencher Jon Cruddas, Education Secretary Alan Johnson, Justice Minister Harriet Harman, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain and Labour chairman Hazel Blears. Lord knows who will win it, and Lord knows who will care apart from the candidates. If one had to pick, Mr. Benn and Mr. Hain are probably the best of the bunch.

These six will spend three days addressing the country in various places, as will Mr. Brown. It offers him numerous opportunities to explain what he intends to do as PM. And in so doing, he will highlight one of the great short-comings of his ascent to power. Usually, the Brits prefer to hear a prime minister’s program before they elect him (or Margaret Thatcher). The anti-democratic scent of Blairism persists despite the departure of Mr. Blair himself.

That doesn’t sit well with many. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said, “As Mr Brown will not face a challenger, it is all the more important that there should be a general election now. The country is surely entitled to pass judgement on whether he should become the most powerful politician in the country.” And last week, Tory boss David Cameron also demanded a general election upon Mr. Blair’s resignation. Mr. Brown is under no obligation to call an election, nor is he likely to win one if he does. So on June 28, he’ll be Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and from now, he is Labour's King Gordon the Unopposed.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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