Could this man bring down Brown?
What if Mandy decides that the PM is bad for Labour?
An interesting piece by Rachel Sylvester in the Times on the subject everybody seems to want to talk about – how Brown could be forced out.
She writes: “.. what is certain is that the Blairites are not going to go down without a fight.
The one to watch is Peter Mandelson. By bringing his former enemy back into the Cabinet last year Mr Brown locked in the modernisers and ensured his own survival. But if the Business Secretary were to turn on the Prime Minister (either in private or in public) no one could be more deadly. So far, there is no sign of that.
If, however, Mr Brown continues to ignore his advice, if he blocks his reforming plans for the Royal Mail, if he sidelines him in the run-up to the general election then the “sinister minister†could be very dangerous indeed. “Peter’s fundamental view is that he’s loyal to the Labour Party. The question is – is loyalty to the Labour Party the same as loyalty to the leader?†says an MP who has discussed it with him. “That’s not absolutely the case.”
Whether this happens or not one thing’s for sure – the speculation will go on. I used to say that nobody ever got rich betting against Tony Blair – I wonder whether we will be saying the same about Gordon? For nobody gets to the position he has reached without a high degree of resilience.