The beginning of the end? (For Tony Blair)

Charles III . . . that'll be a laugh riot . . .


So, Blair, is he gone yet?

I hear ya, home slice, i was cruisin' in other hoods . . .

Why can't he just go with some dignity . . . oh yeah, he ain't got none left . . .

I hear ya, home slice, i was cruisin' in other hoods . . .

Why can't he just go with some dignity . . . oh yeah, he ain't got none left . . .

Unlike American presidents, a British prime minister does not serve for a fixed term, nor is he directly beholden to the electorate. Blair is prime minister because he is leader of the Labor Party and the Labor Party has the most seats in Parliament--thanks in no small part to Blair.

There are no term limits in Britain, and prime ministers can, as Thatcher famously put it, go "on and on."

But under this open-ended system, it is difficult for a prime minister to end his tenure on a triumphant note. He is either dumped by his party or dumped by voters who have wearied of him, his party or both.

Charles III . . . that'll be a laugh riot . . .


So, Blair, is he gone yet?

Cherie Blair is not delighted. The nadir came when she was apparently told by an aide last week that the curtains had arrived. She asked: "What curtains? I have ordered no curtains."

[..] this year's TUC conference promises to be the year the unions bite back at New Labour. Today's agenda is dominated by tough resolutions on fighting privatisation and cuts in the NHS, Whitehall, schools, and also taking a tough line on protecting pensions.

There is also a historic fringe meeting that puts the normally cautious British Medical Association on the same platform as Unison in their fight against government policies. For the first time the government's agenda from outsourcing the writing up of patients notes to South Africa to asking district nurses to make a "business case" for helping patients has angered everybody in the profession.

[..] Union leaders were incandescent yesterday at the damage done to Labour by the squabbling over Mr Blair's departure date and who might succeed him. Their anger was made worse by Mr Brown's statement [..] that he planned to "intensify" his privatisation of public services. They lined up to insist that the government had to change direction if the party was to win a fourth term. [..]

[Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary,] reflected opinions by other union leaders who are rapidly cooling towards the prospect of Mr Brown becoming prime minister.

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of PCS, said he could not see the benefit for the five million public sector workers of a Brown premiership that included more privatisation and lower pay.

Mr Prentis also warned of a national strike over the privatisation of NHS services - another policy backed by the chancellor. He said: "The NHS is under threat in a very insidious way from within the very party that created it. "This will determine whether Labour wins a fourth term or blows it." [..]

Unison also revealed it was seeking a judicial review of a controversial decision to award a £1.2bn NHS contract to German-owned logistics firm DHL.

The result of a ballot among almost 1,000 workers in NHS Logistics will be announced tomorrow and could herald the biggest bout of industrial action against the privatisation of NHS services.

The TUC general secretary today accused the government of creating "self-inflicted wounds" over its failure to protect vulnerable workers and its controversial approach to public service reform.

Brendan Barber used his keynote address on the first day of the four-day Trade Union Congress conference in Brighton to urge the government to get its act together, and give voters a new sense of purpose by ending the " leadership soap opera" and focusing on policies. [..]

He lauded the improvements achieved [in the past] nine years [..], such as a strong economy and better public services [..]. "But what pains me are the self-inflicted wounds," he said, pointing to the "autopilot foreign policy" that tied Britain to the United States, the 1m jobs lost in manufacturing since 1997, and a "disturbing faith" in flexible Labour markets, which gave British workers the weakest employment protections in Europe. [..]

[He cited] the crude approach to tackling financial difficulties by NHS trusts, the constant calls for reforms which gave the false impression the NHS is in crisis, and the ideological preference for private solutions. [..]

Unions bared their teeth today over the government's NHS reforms as the conference unanimously backed a motion calling on the TUC to support any public sector union taking strike action over controversial service reforms.

The TUC was given its first opportunity to put its commitment to the test after Unison members working for the supply arm of the health service, NHS Logistics, voted overwhelmingly to strike over the decision to sell it off to German logistics company, DHL. [..]

Dave Prentis, the Unison general secretary, [..] accused the government of creating an impression of ineptitude in its health reforms. "A government that has lost the plot.... all done in the arrogant self belief that they know best."

He warned future contenders for the Labour party leadership not to take his members' backing - one of the big four Labour affiliated unions - for granted.

"I have a message for those waiting in the wings," he said. "You've ridden on our backs for too long... If the current direction of travel continues there will be no going back, and trust me, there will be no fourth term."

Tony Blair has said he will step down as Labour party leader and prime minister well before the next general election. When would you prefer him to announce his resignation and start the process of electing a new leader?

44% At this month's Labour party conference

14% Before the end of this year

7% Early next year

4% Next summer

3% Later next year

5% In 2008

9% At the very end of this Parliament

14% Don't know


Source: YouGov / Daily Telegraph
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,504 British adults, conducted on Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, 2006. No margin of error was provided.

Johnson condemns 'macho' infighting

Wednesday September 13, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

Alan Johnson today stoked speculation that he would stand for the Labour leadership with a speech that went way beyond his brief as education secretary [..].

He refused to answer reporters' questions about whether he would run for the leadership when Mr Blair steps down. Instead he just blushed and smiled. [..]

Following Mr Johnson's speech, the Conservatiives called on the government to "fight poverty - not each other".

The shadow chancellor, George Osborne, said: "Alan Johnson is absolutely right. His withering attack shows that under Gordon Brown there has been a shocking decline in social mobility.

"The number of people in multiple deprivation has increased, and poverty has become more entrenched.

"But what this really proves is that the cabinet is now dysfunctional, and is spending its time fighting each other, instead of addressing the long term challenges like poverty."

And what are the conservatives doing? Oak tree doodle replaces the Tory freedom torch