Why doesn’t Brown “do a Major”?

Why doesn’t Brown “do a Major”?


BBC “On this day – July 4 1995”

Surely that’s better than the current mess?

In her Guardian this morning Jackie Ashley looks at the state of Labour following the failed coup and puts a lot of the blame on the cabinet.

Through their actions they “could have either forced Brown out, or could have spread utter hostility to any attempted coup against him, and stopped the plotting..” Instead they did neither – not being prepared to try to bring him down or give him their full backing.

She goes on “..In this situation, and until they move one way or another, the initiative remains with Brown. We must assume he will not walk. The really brave thing to do would be for him to “do a Major” and invite a secret vote on his leadership, or even a contest. Bring it on! I wonder if anyone would actually have the nerve to stand against him, so Brown could actually confirm his position. But if someone else stood and won, then surely it’s better to go into an election with a leader the party wants. A vote would be risky. It would be a distraction and would delight the Tories; but it would be better than this

I think that there’s a lot in what Ashley writes but I don’t think that Brown would try it. Maybe he could surprise us.

  • There’s a good account of what happened with Major in 1995 on the BBC News site.
  • Mike Smithson

    PB: Political Website of the Year
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