BLAIR ROCKED BY BROWN AND PRESCOTT PLOT

[dArKeR]

By Oonagh Blackman, Political Editor, And Bob Roberts

GORDON Brown and John Prescott held an oyster bar summit to plan for life after Tony Blair, sources said last night.

They plotted the Chancellor's smooth succession to No 10 when the under-fire Prime Minister quits.

The news came as Mr Blair was warned he would be forced out unless British troops leave Iraq.

Mr Brown and Mr Prescott spent two hours in a ministerial Jag to discuss a "peaceful coronation" to the Labour hot seat.

The pair stopped in the car park of the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar in Argyll on the way back from ex-Labour leader John Smith's memorial service last Sunday.

As the Deputy PM got out to buy take-away oysters, Mr Brown chatted on his mobile phone.

Their discussion, dubbed the Oyster Bar Summit in Westminster, was said to centre on providing a successor to Mr Blair in a leadership contest that would unite the party instead of tearing it apart.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/tm_objectid=14247531%26method=full%26siteid=50143%26headline=blair%2drocked%2dby%2dbrown%2dand%2dprescott%2dplot-name_page.html

[Beetwasher]

1. If Blair Goes Down

Wow...

[THUNDER HANDS]

2. if?

you mean 'when' right?

[dArKeR]

7. British citizens are NOT as 'current affairs' disengaged as Americans

They are also connected to a long European history. (All of who my European friends lectured me before the invasion of Iraq; 'America will need from 300K to 400K troops to control Iraq.' And they back it up with facts of history of other European nations invading Middle East countries.)

I don't think Blair has a chance. But is it better for him to lose or resign before the election?

[truthspeaker]

11. I believe you, but if so, why haven't they forced Blair out already?

[The Stranger]

16. Yes, "if."

Blair has weathered more threats of his undoing than anyone I can remember. There were threats of unseating him prior to the invasion over a year ago, and nothing ever came of that. There have been calls for resignation and hearings repeatedly but nothing comes of it -- they huff and they puff, but they just can't seem to blow the house down.

[Spazito]

18. The #'s of British citizens wanting him to go is much larger than...

it was before the invasion, his approval #s are in the hole. He will be gone, I have no doubt.

[nodictators]

22. "When" may be as soon as August, according to the Guardian UK

Blair is hoping to hang on until Jan. 2005, when the New Iraq elections are held. (Elections, HA-HA-HA)

Blair's immediate problem is that he wants to send more UK soldiers to Iraq by June 30. That could seal his doom.

If Blair were actually dumped in Auguast, it would be a thunderbolt shock for the Bush regime, and might help seal Bush's doom.

[loudsue]

3. So....how in the hell did this end up public news?

If it was a private conversation, how did anyone find out about it?

Just curious.

:kick::kick:

[daleo]

6. That is a good question

The Mirror is known to be pretty left wing, so it may indicate some serious in-fighting in the Labour Party (i.e. leaks to favoured press). The Guardian is said to be more Blairite, so it will be interesting to see if they pick this up.

[dArKeR]

8. I've lived enough life to KNOW that 'Left Wing' means "Honest, morality'..

[aquart]

10. No, you haven't lived NEARLY long enough.

Power corrupts on either side of the aisle.

Me, I learned that at 17, on my last day of high school, when the leftist advisors for the Civil Rights Club tried to railroad an impeachment of the Student Council President for criticizing them in print for inaction. We were graduating. We had our colleges. But they had to try for a pound of flesh on our last day of school. Best attended council meeting of the year.

The Civil Rights Club advisor was also the school magazine advisor. My council seat was from the magazine. She asked me to vote for impeachment. When I said no, she asked me to step down and let someone sit who would, can you believe it? I said no. Then I went to the meeting and helped my fellow council members defeat this outrageous request. Democracy and free speech triumphed. But I never got over the betrayal.

From that day, I vote with the liberals, but I never turn my back on them.

[jobycom]

12. I'll second that

I've had some run ins with a couple of liberal icons around town in the last few months. Seems these upstanding liberals thought it a good idea to invade my club and steal the endorsement votes of fellow liberals to promote their own candidates over the ones who might have been our choices otherwise.

Power is power, and there is no shortage of cheaters on both sides. We have a better ideology, but that doesn't mean everyone who spouts it gets it.

[RogueTrooper]

9. Brown watching is a national sport in Scotland

The story between Brown and Blair is long and contorted. Stories about Brown manouevering to get the top job surface a couple of times a year. What makes this diferent are the people Brown is talking to and the fact that his time may just have come.


A correction: The Guardian is not Blairite it is just left of centre. It has never been particularly supportive of Blair but it is supportive of the Labour Party.

[daleo]

19. Thanks for info about the Guardian and Blair

I had heard that the Guardian was supposed to be quite pro-Blair, but being a Canadian I am in no position to judge any of these claims. I have also heard that the Mirror is left of the Guardian, but again, I pretty well have to go on hearsay.

Anyway, I think the original poster's question, about how these conversations got revealed to the press is still an interesting one.

[hedda_foil]

4. If Labour doesn't force Blair out, they're toast.

This should focus their resolve if anything can.
<snip>
Party chiefs have warned Labour is in danger of collapsing to third place in the June 10 elections.

Millions of Labour voters are expected to stay at home in protest over Iraq. One insider said: "We know we'll get a kicking. We don't know how bad."

If it happens, it would be the first time Labour has come third in a nationwide poll.

[phoebe]

20. Be interesting to see which of the parties will win the election when the

time comes. Paper or electronic?

[Nihil]

27. Mixed

> Paper or electronic?

Some regions are electronic, some are just paper.

[daa]

5. I keep waiting for the repukes

to gather forces and march to the WH and tell $hrub they support him, led by Zell the Idiot of course.

[FemaleDemfromMass]

13. So how come the people in this country don't tell Bush the same thing?

His poll numbers are dropping rapidly, the Iraq War aka Bush's War is being lost, money is being spent foolishly that we need here, the abuse scandal is growing daily, other countries are pulling out, our troops are under equipped and stretched too thin.......what does it take? We need to leave Iraq now.

[qb]

14. Shouldn't that be "Ouster Bar?" ;-) nt.

[Spazito]

15. LOL!

Good one!

[Nlighten1]

23. LOL!

Brilliant!

[reprobate]

17. Question: If blair goes, will GB pull out of iraq?

[Zen]

21. Haha - will Blair pull out of Dubya - hahahahaha

[newyawker99]

25. Hi ktf23t!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[fedsron2us]

24. Labour politicians may be plotting .....

but I doubt if any of them are going to challenge Blair directly in a leadership contest. Many of those with ambitions to become Prime Minister are probably happy for Blair to stay in office for the moment. They know that the planned hand over of power to the Iraqi interim authority at the end of June is doomed and that the Labour party will probably perform very badly in the upcoming European and local elections. Blair will be allowed to take the blame for these disasters. Attempts will then be made to persuade him to stand down in favour of a successor who would then try to extricate Britain from the fiasco in Iraq. The one problem with this scenario is that Blair is unlikely to resign. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine him admitting that he has ever made any mistakes on matters of policy. It is this inability to change course even when it is obvious that the current position is untenable that makes me think that he has lost all contact with reality and may even be mentally ill. In those circumstances it may be time to send for the men in white coats.

[AndyTiedye]

26. If they Keep Blair, the Tories Will Win