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Gordon Brown scents victory as Blair suffers massive revolt
Last updated at 23:52pm on 06.09.06
All smiles: Gordon Brown grins after his meeting with Tony Blair
Gordon Brown left Downing Street tonight looking like the cat that got the cream.
After three hours of bad-tempered talks with Tony Blair, the Chancellor still wore a big smile.
Mr Brown had apparently won a promise that the Premier will finally come clean about his departure plans.
See also:
• Tony Blair to leave on May 31st
• Who is plotting Blair's downfall?
• Peter Oborne: If Labour can't get rid of him now, it'll soon be time for the men in white coats
• The man behind Blair's image
• Labour's obsession with memos and image
• Gallery: Blair and Brown's battling body language
• Blair and Brown's battling body language
But sceptical allies of the Chancellor were still asking: Can we really believe Blair this time?
The Labour crisis came to a head after one of the most tumultuous days Westminster has ever seen.
Blairite MPs feared the Premier was being pushed to the brink of losing power as:
- Seven Ministerial Parliamentary aides quit in protest at his refusal to name the day;
- Junior defence minister Tom Watson resigned minutes before he was due to be sacked for signing a rebel ultimatum to the Premier;
- His move triggered an acrimonious exchange of letters, with Mr Blair branding him discourteous, disloyal and wrong'.
- Commons Leader Jack Straw and Education Secretary Alan Johnson met Mr Blair in Downing Street, fuelling the impression of a Premier in crisis.
- More than 100 MPs hardened their plan to send a delegation into Downing Street this weekend to tell Mr Blair the game is up' if he fails to budge.
- Tory leader David Cameron said the Government was falling apart and called for an end to uncertainty'.
The day of drama, unmatched since the downfall of Margaret Thatcher, left Mr Blair at bay and Labour's claim to be a disciplined political force in tatters.
At its end, MPs were told last night to expect a public statement from Mr Blair today, admitting for the first time that he has less than a year left in office.
He will confirm what his allies have spent days trying to say for him – that this month's Labour conference in Manchester will be his last as
leader.
The announcement will be backed by a Downing Street spin operation offering a timetable that would see him leave office on June 15 next year.
A special Labour spring conference would be called in February, at which Mr Blair would confirm that he will stand down as party leader on May 4.
That will be just after his 10th anniversary as Premier – and following what are expected to be disastrous Scottish, Welsh and local elections.
There would then be a Labour leadership contest before Mr Blair resigns as Premier and hands over to his successor.
But tonight there were doubts about Mr Blair's ability to survive the worst crisis of his premiership.
There was even speculation that he could be gone before the Labour conference in less than three weeks.
Labour peer Lord – formerly Donald – Anderson, said yesterday: 'I think there are good arguments in terms of the elections we have in Wales and
Scotland to have the new leader in place… say by February or March next year.'
What amount to a humiliating climbdown by the Premier was forced on him by 24 hours of open rebellion in Labour ranks, dominated by the sensational resignation of eight members of the Government.
Mr Watson and the seven departing Parliamentary Private Secretaries were all among the MPs from the 2001 intake who wrote to Mr Blair on Monday
saying it was time for him to set a timetable.
Hartlepool MP Mr Wright said in his letter to the PM that his resignation was a matter of 'utmost regret', that he had always been a 'loyal member'
of the Labour Party, but he 'no longer believed that the party and the Government can renew itself in office without urgently renewing the
leadership'.
Sources said Mr Blair was reduced to 'ranting' at staff after learning that Mr Watson had jumped before he could be pushed.
Mr Blair and Mr Brown met as the bitter struggle for power that has poisoned the New Labour project for more than a decade appeared to be
entering its final act.
Angry exchanges
Despite Mr Blair's apparent promise to go, the meeting still ended in angry exchanges as the two deadly rivals accused each other's loyalists of
plunging the party into crisis.
Mr Brown's supporters were reluctant to declare victory, warning that Mr Blair's record on his future was 'unreliable at best'.
They said the precise date of his departure was less important than an unequivocal pledge to end the attacks by his allies on the Chancellor and
his record.
Downing Street was reduced to accusing Mr Brown of orchestrating a palace coup, as a succession of his allies emerged to call for Mr Blair quit.
Tonight a defiant Prime Minister challenged the Chancellor to make a public pledge of loyalty and 'call off his dogs' in exchange for speeding
up his own departure from Downing Street.
But there was further evidence that the Labour tide was moving inexorably away from Mr Blair last night as rising star David Miliband issued an
unequivocal endorsement of Mr Brown.
The Environment Secretary, Mr Blair's former policy chief, said the party wanted an 'energising, refreshing transition' to the Chancellor, prompting claims from Brown supporters that he could now be a contender for the deputy leadership.
The Premier's aides admitted that Mr Blair's hopes of staying in office until next July had been dashed. The leak of plans for a May 31 resignation to the Labour-supporting Sun newspaper had spectacularly backfired.
As MPs stepped up their calls for Mr Blair to go before crucial mid-term elections in May in Scotland, Wales and English councils, the Prime
Minister was said to be reconciled to leaving Downing Street early next spring.
But Labour chief whip Jacqui Smith warned MPs against making more trouble, declaring: 'Expecting the Prime Minister to be bundled out of the back door in the next few days isn't stable and it isn't orderly. I don't think it is what the vast majority of my colleagues or the party in the country want.'
The two meetings between Mr Blair and Mr Brown followed several days of talks by telephone and took place in Mr Blair's Downing Street 'den', which has become infamous as his preferred location for talks away from civil servants.
There was confusion tonight about exactly what was discussed.
Mr Blair was said to have agreed that his decision last week to rule out offering the party a timetable for his departure had triggered the crisis, and was unsustainable. He was also said to have accepted the need for an urgent public statement about his intentions.
But it was also reported that he told Mr Brown to distance himself from 'plotters' who dominated the airwaves today with calls for Mr Blair to
go.
Mr Brown countered by demanding that Mr Blair silence the 'ultras', led by Alan Milburn and Stephen Byers, running a campaign to discredit him.
The Prime Minister is expected to confirm that the Manchester conference will be his last, in what Mr Brown hopes will be the first in a
series of announcements about a timetable.
There was another echo of Lady Thatcher's downfall as Mr Blair prepared to fly to the Middle East. He will be away from Westminster on Sunday, when Mr Brown is expected to make his first statement about the crisis.
Reader views (26)
We are indeed thankful for his bold stand on the international stage. However his constant appeasement of the left over issues suc as taxation, healthcare and hunting are incredibly grating. I think that many Americans fail to realise that Blair's Labour party is the Socialist party of Great Britain. Tony Blair is a damn sight better than the closet communist Gordon Brown, but Britain would be a lot better off under a Conservative government that would look after our interests both home and abroad.
- Roland Lewis, London, Great Britain, 10/09/2006 21:10
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I am happy for the people of England that Tony Blair is getting what is coming to him.
He and Bush are disgusting individuals who distort, lie, and elevate the word duplicity to a new level. Sadly, Blair seems to be quite eloquent and educated than Bush. He appears to be more literate than our 'white thrash' president. In a perfect world, Bush should not even be tasked with running the midnight drive-thru at McDonalds. He truly is a true idiot of the people.
I am quite happy and I fully hope that more party members give Blair the full 'pressure cooker' treatment before he is booted and ousted from his party.
He deserves all the misery a wicked man can get.
- Joseph Mitchell, New York, New York, USA, 07/09/2006 14:34
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TB will fing a further excuse to hang on for the good of the country - probably when hostiities with Iran begin in the new year.
- Robert, Hull, East Yorks, 07/09/2006 08:34
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Tony Blair has been a solid friend to the men of good will around the world. I will miss his presence on the world scene. Winston, the Iron Lady, and Tony Blair are characters I admire. I hope your country is respectful and thankful for his leadership.
- Larry Sheets, Moulton, Iowa, USA, 07/09/2006 03:25
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A tragedy indeed that the one British leader with a clear understanding of the world and the horrors of Islamofacism is cast aside by a party dominated by appeasers. Those who cherish freedom and liberty owe a debt of gratitude to Tony Blair, the Churchill of our era.
- Steven Haffner, West Bloomfield, MI USA, 07/09/2006 02:51
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Good to see that the tyrants are being tossed. The people of the world are finally waking up to the real terror of GW Bush and Mr. Blair. Good riddance to both of them!
- Mick, USA, 07/09/2006 00:56
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These people are our servants, paid for by us. Many people are sick and tired of them scrambling for months pursuing their own interests instead of doing their jobs.
I'd prefer a more direct form of democracy that could bypass having to employ all these expensive idiots.
- L, New York (ex London), 06/09/2006 21:49
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Tony Blair is an honest, hard working man, one of the best the UK has ever had.
- Meg, London, UK, 06/09/2006 20:02
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Blair out, troops out, Labour out.
- Gary, Birmingham, 06/09/2006 19:43
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Churchill was right, but he got voted out too.
Seems that the people are sheep who have very bad judgement.
- Greg Byrnes, USA, 06/09/2006 17:59
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Tony Blair is surrounded by advisors, many of whom will lose their jobs when he leaves office. Not surprisingly they advise him to stay in office.
- Martin, London, UK, 06/09/2006 17:43
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Blair has ignored his party and most of the country on Iraq and Lebanon, so it's not surprising that he's trying to ignore the demands for him to go sooner rather than later. If Gordon Brown wants Blair to go now then he should just challenge Blair and force a leadership election.
- John, London, UK, 06/09/2006 16:48
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As soon as Blair is sacked he should be handed over to the International Criminal Court for the war crime of illegally invading and occupying a foreign country based on lies and deceits and spin.
- Chris Brooksbank, Chelmsford, 06/09/2006 16:07
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The man can not be trusted, and the country voted him and his party into power at the last election. If he steps down another election must be called.
The u-turns and spin that we have had to endure over the past 9 years must come to an end. New Labour is dead in the water it is as sleeze ridden and corupt as the last Tory government. The only trouble is there is no one else that I would care to vote for.
- Mike, Croydon, 06/09/2006 16:04
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The man can not be trusted and the country voted him and his party into power at the last election. If he steps down another election must be called.
The u-turns and spin that we have had to endure over the past 9 years must come to an end. New Labour is dead in the water it is as sleeze ridden and corupt as the last Tory government. The only trouble is there is no one else that I would care to vote for.
- Mike, Croydon, 06/09/2006 16:04
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Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
- Sheila Mark, New York, NY, 06/09/2006 15:41
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I think it is funny that liberals in England also put party interests above their nation's interest. Mr. Brown sounds like a whiney, power hungry little man who has no respect for England's elected leader. Blair was re-elected because England thought he was the right man for the job. Blair is meeting the global challenges of the 21st century that other party members are pretending don't exist. Blair should replace the party hacks that have left his administration and continue leading England as he was elected to do.
- Keith, Sioux City, United States, 06/09/2006 15:34
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There's a level of ignorance here that's astonishing -- the only people who voted for Blair were the ones in his own constituency. Nobody else even could vote for Blair. People voted for Labour. Blair is in power because he leads the Labour party, not because he was elected directly. It could easily be anybody else in the party, and will be as soon as Blair stops harming Labour by sticking around.
- Jake, Milton Keynes, 06/09/2006 15:17
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Mr Blair should have stepped down the day he deviated from the Labor mandate. He was elected by the Labor party and has conducted his entire reign as true to Tory as I have seen, and to me Tory is a four letter word.
- Larry, Ramona, USA, 06/09/2006 15:07
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From what I've seen, I'm very impressed with Blair. I'm not a Bush hater like some that are very vocal, but I'd much rather have Blair than Bush.
- Andrew, Brainerd, USA, 06/09/2006 15:03
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The country voted for a party led by a specific leader, Mr Blair should continue to lead until the next General Election or (if he elects to leave earlier) announce another General Election.
I would ask also why a Scottish MP should be allowed to stand as the potential leader of the party in England. Following devolution English MPs have no say in how Scotland is run, how come the opposite is allowed. Candidates for party leaders in the English parliament should have seats in England.
- Tim, London, 06/09/2006 15:00
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Tony is entitled to the mandate given him by the generality of the populace and I think it is reasonable if the party allow him to fulfil the mandate till the end.
Do not split Labour for we have no other party to vote for at the moment.
- Babatope Gbolagun, London / UK, 06/09/2006 14:59
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At the election Blair promised to stay for, "a full term". Brown and the rest of Labour endorsed this. So if Blair resigns there should definitely be another election.
But as everything else they've said or done over the last 9 years has been lies and spin, I have no expectation of Blair's "full term" promise being kept.
- Ian, London, 06/09/2006 14:49
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I agree with Andy. It shouldn't be up to the Labour party to decide who is going to lead the country. Mr Blair, love him or loathe him, was elected by the people of the country and should be allowed to complete his term or if he decides to resign he should do that at his own convinience.
I've heard it said, "a house divided against itself cannot stand". I think we are seeing the beginning of the end for 'New' Labour.
- Fiona, London, 06/09/2006 14:10
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Why another General Election? At the last we all knew: that Vote Blair, Get Brown was the Labour Party platform. And that is what we'll get.
- Dhanraj, Basildon, 06/09/2006 13:35
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If he's going to resign then we should have a general election, otherwise he should stay til the end of his term.
- Andy, London, 06/09/2006 13:22
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