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May 9, 2005
Where do we go from here?
We all remember George W. Bush's presumptious "Mission Accomplished" visit to the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. Now that the 2005 General Election is over and Labour have had their majority slashed, some might think that it was mission accomplished for Backing Blair. But the mission statement was Labour In. Blair Out. And we've still got Blair, and if we're not careful, for longer than we'd like:The Independant - Blair set 18-month deadline to quit as cabinet ministers round on him: Tony Blair's most senior Cabinet colleagues plan to urge him to stand down within 18 months because he lost seats for Labour at last week's election.
Even normally loyal ministers want him to resign by the time the party holds its conference in September 2006 - two years earlier than Mr Blair wishes.
The Scotsman - Blair and Brown unite against rebel MPs: Most Scottish Labour backbenchers want to see Tony Blair step down as Prime Minister within the next two years, according to a survey.
Researchers for BBC Scotland’s Politics Show asked the 33 Scottish Labour back-benchers and four former MPs, who lost their seats last week, when they wanted Mr Blair to go.
Of those who replied, 12 said they wanted him to give up office in the first half of the new parliamentary term - ie, probably within two years - and a further four said he should stand down within a year. Only one said Mr Blair should stay on for three years, one said four years and five said he should go in his own time.
Well I hate to be a party pooper, but to me, all those suggested timescales are simply too long. If this historic third term isn't to be Labour last, then reconstruction after the damaging effects of Blairism needs to take place as soon as possible. I'd therefore urge all Labour MPs and Party Members to consider what needs to be done to ensure that Blair has either stepped down or been removed by the Party Conference this autumn.
For those of you who look forward to Gordon Brown taking up the reigns of the Labour Party, think on this comment from the Scotsman article quoted above:
However, the Chancellor has already publicly stated that he is not ideologically opposed to more private sector involvement in public services such as health - a view that is against the instincts of Labour’s left.
One minister told The Scotsman: "For everything that has been said about Tony in the past, you could substitute Gordon. The only ones who think differently are those who oppose their own party."
Don't say you haven't been warned...
UPDATE - Doesn't look like Tim's too happy about these timescales either.
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Posted by Clive on May 9, 2005 9:50 AM in the category Old Stuff