September 11, 2004
BROWN CLOUD:
Blair ally touts Milburn as future PM (JAMES KIRKUP, 9/11/04, The Scotsman)
IN COMMENTS that threaten to inflame tensions within the Labour leadership, Stephen Byers, the Blairite former Cabinet minister, has said that Alan Milburn would make an "excellent" prime minister.Mr Byers’ remarks, the first such public endorsement by one of Tony Blair’s allies, will fuel suspicion that the Prime Minister wants Mr Milburn to be Labour’s next leader instead of the Chancellor, Gordon Brown.
Mr Milburn returned to government this week as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. As part of Mr Blair’s drive to curb the influence of the Chancellor, he has been given several of Mr Brown’s key posts overseeing Labour’s election campaign.
Bad enough that Mr. Blair hasn't yielded to him, as they supposedly agreed to years ago, but to be passed over would be just devastating for Mr. Brown. Posted by Orrin Judd at September 11, 2004 3:22 PM
The one area where Blair has failed is that he has not taken over local party organizations. There remains a significant bloc of backbenchers who think the wrong side won the Cold War. Until he gives these goobers the bum's rush, his hold on power will be shaky.
Posted by: Bart at September 11, 2004 10:23 PM