It was always a given that Tony Blair, after ten years in power would be resigning some time during this current term, and that his probable suceesor as Labour PM would be Gordon Brown, now Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Blair has developed into one of Britain's least popular leaders, and not without some justification...but to his credit, he did get one issue right, the necessity of a war on Islamic fascism. However, given that he was the head of the Leftist, largely anti-American Labour Party, Blair was constantly forced into half-measures due to the nature of walking that particular tightrope. To say he was unpopular in his own party is to understate.
He'd held off naming a formal date for leaving power, and this irked a number of people in his own party...who really, really, really wanted someone more in tune with the Labour Party's basic anti-American stance with a view towards keeping the Labour Government in power.
Former Labour Foreign Secretary Jack ("Mr. Appeasement") Straw, the former Foreign Secretary, and Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain were apparently two of the Labour heavyweights pushing Blair the hardest.
Today, the nasty stuff hit the fan with the resignation of seven junior ministers from the Labour cabinet, a letter urging his departure by 17 influential Labour MPs and widespread clamour for Blair to name a date for his resignation...so he did. Sort of.
The rumour is that Blair had chosen May 31, next year, as the preferred date for his departure, which would allow him to celebrate his 10th anniversary in power.
He may not make it.
There were clear signs that a rebellion in his own party could force Blair's early exit from Downing Street, and even many Labour sources from Blair's own party were doubtful he could last until next May.
A large number of MP's have made it clear that they want Blair to 'name a date' at the Labour Party conference in Manchester at the end of this month.
My personal prediction? I think events in Britain are going to move the government fairly far to the Right, although Britain may be too busy dealing with its home grown jihadis to be of much help to the US in the coming war. That could mean Tory David Cameron..or someone else even further over on the spectrum.
3 comments:
Two comments:
Cameron is pretty weak-kneed as a Tory - and he's definitely weak-kneed when it comes to Islamic fascism. `Even further to the right' is something of a joke.
On past form, Blair won't survive a month now. Once things have gone this far, the frenzy just increases, with short pauses, until the whole of the leader's party rise up and demand their immediate departure.
I agree with you on Cameron, but I don't see anyone else even close to providing Britain with the leadership it needs.
I'd be very intersted in your thoughts on who might step into the breech to provide the leadership for Britain the country so desperately needs.
As for `further along the spectrum' being a joke, I note that the BNP is experiencing a spike in membership and interest, which may be a harbinger of things to come.
We'll see...
To take your second post first, the BNP is in many ways an extreme left wing organisation (of course the differences are small at the extremes). I agree that events may well take us to the right. My own hope is that we do so without some calamitous push, but the levels of left-wing indoctrination and manipulation of education, the media and the terms of public debate are very high.
The more important point: who has the vision to provide the leadership that Britain desperately needs?
I had had hopes of Oliver Letwin but it's clear that
a)he's sold out for a vision of power;
b)he doesn't have the hard inner core necessary to fight for his principles;
c)he doesn't have popular appeal.
I don't see any politician who does at the moment.
Nevertheless I believe wholeheartedly that `cometh the hour, cometh the man'. Should a sufficient shift take place that we stop simply trying to hold on to a warm, fuzzy, multiculti, non-existent consensus and start standing up for western civilisation and morality then someone will step forward. I only hope it's someone like John Howard of Australia.
I know it won't be Gordon Brown who is, without a doubt, one of the most dishonest and manipulative politicians this country has ever seen (and yes, I am aware how extreme that statement is).
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