A letter, resignations, a speech and that smile...

What a week!!

So after a letter signed by Labour MPs, eight resignations from junior members of the Government and a row with Gordon Brown, Blair has finally been forced to do what he hoped not to, provide a public timetable as to when he will stand down.

In a speech given at a college he has said he will stand down within twelve months. (The students booed and chanted him but then what did he expect from an audience where half the pupils were from the Middle East!)

He did not provide any details, only that he would not be the leader at the next party conference. Rumours are that he will announce further details in January and step down next May, three days after the elections. This will mean he would have served ten years as PM. (If he holds on till then, I’ll be impressed if he does.)

Those who sent the letter and resigned are all backers of Brown which has led some to suggest Brown is behind this soap opera. What is clear is that Brown could have prevented this from happening. The fact he didn’t seems to of damaged his own reputation as well as that of the PM. Of course, that now infamous smile as he left Downing Street means a lot of Labour MPs and supporters are wondering if he is the right person to take over when the PM does go.

Every MP is giving their view on the current crisis in the Labour Party and, for once Ministers do not seem to know how to answer questions related to the last few days. The once very well orchestrated and organised Government (when it came to the media) has fallen apart. I do wonder though if that is what we’re suppose to believe? The headline on the front page of the Sun saying Blair to step down by 31^st May was certainly leaked by Downing street, so perhaps there is some media co-ordination still in place behind all this.

Charles Clarke’s intervention in the whole fiasco certainly brings further intrigue if there wasn’t enough already. We know he isn’t exactly best friends with the PM (after being sacked as Home Sec retary)and he has made it quite clear that he is no fan of Brown to become the next leader. So what is he trying to do? He hasn’t ruled out standing as a candidate himself. So could he be positioning himself as a compromise candidate? Answers on a postcard…Or in the comments section will be fine.

Blair of course is trying to divert attention away from himself and his position back onto policy and the country. Sorry Blair, but I don’t think anyone is really listening. The Labour Party conference is certainly going to be fun, even though I’m not going.

Of course Brown may of done Blair an inadvertent favour. The party has now seen the mess that is created when the leadership issue is fought in public. The only ones to be damaged are those at the centre (Blair and Brown) and the Labour Party itself. This may mean Brown will back off to further avoid the public being turned off to Labour. We all know the result a divided party gets when it comes to an election, don’t we Mr Major!

More to follow I’m sure….