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September 6, 2006
Bitch Slap Blair
Tom Watson resigned this morning over Blair's continued failure to announce a departure date. His letter of resignation summs up how many in the Labour Party feel.
BBC - In Full, Tom Watson's resignation
Dear Tony,The Labour Party has been my life since I was 15 years old.
I have served the Party at every conceivable level and your own leadership since 1994 in a dozen different capacities, latterly as MP for West Bromwich East, a Government Whip, and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence.
My loyalty to you personally, as well as to the Party and the values we stand for, has been absolute and unswerving.
The struggle to fashion the kind of credible, convincing, effective Labour Party you now lead has been the preoccupation of my adult years.
My pride in what our government has achieved under your leadership is beyond expression.
We have revolutionised the lives and expectations of millions of our citizens, combining social justice with prosperity in a way which is unprecedented in the history of our country.
Your leadership has been visionary and remarkable.
The party and the nation owes you an incalculable debt.
So it is with the greatest sadness that I have to say that I no longer believe that your remaining in office is in the interest of either the party or the country.
How and why this situation has arisen no longer matters.
I share the view of the overwhelming majority of the party and the country that the only way the Party and the Government can renew itself in office is urgently to renew its leadership.
For the sake of the legacy you have long said is the only one that matters - a renewed Labour party re-elected at the next general election - I urge you to reconsider your determination to remain in office.
As you know, I had a conversation with the Chief Whip last night, in which she asked me to withdraw my support from the 2001 intake's letter calling on you to stand down, or my position would be untenable as a government minister.
I have reflected on this overnight.
I cannot withdraw my name, and therefore I accept her judgement.
I do not believe that statements so far give us the clarity necessary to progress over the next year.
Nor do I believe that newspaper reports of potential dates which may have appeared since I signed the 2001 intake's letter can provide the clarity the party and the country so desperately need.
It is with the greatest regret, therefore, that I must leave the Government.
Yours ever,
Tom Watson MP
West Bromwich East
Blair's response was typical, and demonstrated that, after 9 years as Prime Minister and 6 as Bush's poodle, he can't even deliver a bitch slap to a member of his own Government.
BBC - Blair hits out over 'disloyalty'
However, Mr Blair said of his ex-minister: "I had been intending to dismiss him but wanted to extend to him the courtesy of speaking to him first.
"Had he come to me privately and expressed his view about the leadership, that would have been one thing.
"But to sign a round robin letter which was then leaked to the press was disloyal, discourteous and wrong.
"It would therefore have been impossible for him to remain in government."
How many weak and incompetant managers have made that statement over the years - I was going to sack them anyway - when faced with the unexpected resignation of a loyal worker. Maybe Blair had been intending to drop Tom, but somehow I doubt it was before he signed the letter.
But all this talk of another 12 months is just pathetic. The Labour Party Conference doesn't start for another 18 days, plenty of time for Blair to write his resignation speech. Better still, such an announcement would give the new leader as much time as possible to prepare for what is bound to be a tough election campaign against an apparently revitalised Conservative Party.
Posted by Clive at 12:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Keep the champagne on hold
After the last few days of statement, counter-statement, letters, briefings and resignations, it is tempting to think of celebrating the end of Blair's premiership and a move away from Blairism. Once again Gordon Brown is being hailed as the natural successor, the man who will defeat Cameron's Conservatives and lead Labour to another election victory.
Well I for one don't hold with the idea that Gordon Brown would make a good leader. It is too easy to believe that all Labour's unpopularity stems directly from the PM, and that by ditching Blair the Party can somehow pretend that it wasn't their fault. But on the whole, while Blair may have been the figured head, the Party went along with his policies. Look at Brown's voting record from the Public Whip:
In Labour's first term, his voting attendance was a mere 16.7% and he never rebelled. In their second term, his attendance dropped to 11.1% and again, he never rebelled. Now while Blair's attendance was far worse, never making double figure percentages, he actually rebelled twice!. So don't think Labour's policies are going to change overnight, don't expect troops out of war zones, don't expect a reduction in the commitment to PFI.
Above all, don't think things are going to get better under Brown.
If we're to have cause to celebrate, then the Party needs to rid itself of the idea of a smooth and stable transition of leadership to Gordon Brown. Instead, let's have an open, honest and informative leadership campaign, based on policies rather than personalities. The Party has reassessed its direction before, let it be prepared to do so again. And let the (remaining) members be involved.
Some worthwhile information on the whole Leadership process, and what the membership can do, can be found at the Save the Labour Party website.
Posted by Clive at 12:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack