Britain’s Brown is PM-in-waiting

LONDON – Finance minister Gordon Brown became Britain’s prime minister-in-waiting yesterday, as the ruling Labour party said he was the only candidate to succeed its outgoing leader Tony Blair.

But Brown faces a six-week wait before actually taking over in 10 Downing Street, when his longtime ally-turned-rival Blair stands down at the end of June after a decade in power. The party confirmed that Brown secured 313 signatures from Labour’s 352 lawmakers, while his only potential challenger, left-winger John McDonnell, failed to rally the 45 supporters required to join the internal party race.That means that Brown, 56, is set to be officially named Labour’s leader on June 24 and prime minister on June 27, the departure dates Blair announced last week after 10 years in power.Critics lament that the lack of a leadership contest will lead to the ‘coronation’ of Brown as prime minister, without either a general election or a vote within his own party.”It is a great shame that Labour Party members will now not be allowed a vote on the leader of their party or the party’s future direction,” said McDonnell, while congratulating Brown and wishing him success.Under Britain’s electoral rules the prime minister is the leader of the biggest party in parliament.Despite being the only candidate, Brown, currently chancellor of the exchequer, will still be obliged to attend a series of hustings meetings over the next six weeks.But with no rival in the race he is likely to focus more on convincing British voters of his suitability as prime minister, rather than persuading his own party.McDonnell threw in the towel after one Labour MP said he would back Brown and another said she would not nominate either candidate, meaning McDonnell, who had secured 29 nominations so far, could not secure the 45 needed.Securing the prime minister’s office has been a longstanding goal for Brown, who was mentioned back in 1994 as a possible successor to the late John Smith as leader of the Labour Party but was beaten to the post by Blair.Britain’s longest-serving finance minister without interruption, Brown has developed a reputation as a hard-worker with a dour and controlling nature, though he is said to be personable in private.The leadership contest was sparked by Blair’s announcement last week that he is to step down after 13 years as Labour leader and 10 years as British prime minister.A deputy leadership contest is being held in parallel, after Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott’s decision to step down at the same time.That looks like a tighter contest, with five of the six candidates having already secured the 45 nominations necessary to have their names on the ballot.Nampa-AFPThe party confirmed that Brown secured 313 signatures from Labour’s 352 lawmakers, while his only potential challenger, left-winger John McDonnell, failed to rally the 45 supporters required to join the internal party race.That means that Brown, 56, is set to be officially named Labour’s leader on June 24 and prime minister on June 27, the departure dates Blair announced last week after 10 years in power.Critics lament that the lack of a leadership contest will lead to the ‘coronation’ of Brown as prime minister, without either a general election or a vote within his own party.”It is a great shame that Labour Party members will now not be allowed a vote on the leader of their party or the party’s future direction,” said McDonnell, while congratulating Brown and wishing him success.Under Britain’s electoral rules the prime minister is the leader of the biggest party in parliament.Despite being the only candidate, Brown, currently chancellor of the exchequer, will still be obliged to attend a series of hustings meetings over the next six weeks.But with no rival in the race he is likely to focus more on convincing British voters of his suitability as prime minister, rather than persuading his own party.McDonnell threw in the towel after one Labour MP said he would back Brown and another said she would not nominate either candidate, meaning McDonnell, who had secured 29 nominations so far, could not secure the 45 needed.Securing the prime minister’s office has been a longstanding goal for Brown, who was mentioned back in 1994 as a possible successor to the late John Smith as leader of the Labour Party but was beaten to the post by Blair.Britain’s longest-serving finance minister without interruption, Brown has developed a reputation as a hard-worker with a dour and controlling nature, though he is said to be personable in private.The leadership contest was sparked by Blair’s announcement last week that he is to step down after 13 years as Labour leader and 10 years as British prime minister.A deputy leadership contest is being held in parallel, after Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott’s decision to step down at the same time.That looks like a tighter contest, with five of the six candidates having already secured the 45 nominations necessary to have their names on the ballot.Nampa-AFP