The Hindu : Revolt against Blair brewing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 26, 2002

International

International

Revolt against Blair brewing

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, MARCH 25. Speculation over a simmering revolt among Labour MPs has reached a fever pitch amid reports of secret moves to challenge the leadership of the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who is seen to have become too "presidential'', and out of touch with public and party mood.

His "blind'' support to America over Iraq and growing proximity to the more right-wing European leaders such as Italy's Silvio Berlusconi and Spain's Jose Maria Aznar have infuriated even moderate Labour backbenchers and many of them have publicly voiced their disenchantment accusing Downing Street of operating on a "parallel planet''.

The moves to unseat him may not get far but analysts said the very talk of a "plot'' and the fact that it had not been denied was bad news for Mr. Blair whose public ratings plummeted to an all-time low this week.

According to an opinion poll this morning, a majority of voters are disappointed with his policies and 43 per cent would want him to step down at the next general election. The Sunday Times poll confirmed the findings of a Guardian survey earlier this week that Labour was rapidly losing its lead over the Tories. It is now only seven points ahead of Tories, and is backed by 40 per cent of the voters as against the 33 per cent support enjoyed by Tories. This is the sharpest drop in Labour's ratings since it returned to power last summer with a massive majority.

The "plot'' to topple Mr Blair is reported to have the backing of not just the "usual suspects'' but also of moderate party MPs and the idea, it is stated, is to get a "stalking horse'' _ a moderate MP with no personal ambitions _ to challenge Mr. Blair's leadership triggering a chain of events that might lead to his fall. He could then be replaced by the Chancellor Gordon Brown, seen as a "natural'' successor to Mr. Blair anyway.

The media-savvy chairman of the Labour Party, Charles Clarke, is believed to be another contender and an unnamed party MP, backing him, was quoted in The Sunday Times today as claiming that "we have already begun plotting''. The newspaper said that "conspirators'' had already held meetings in the past fortnight to discuss the anti-Blair plot. A Left-wing party MP, Jeremy Corbyn, confirmed the "stalking horse'' theory but said no names had emerged.

There is a precedent for a "stalking horse'' plot. In 1989, a moderate Tory MP challenged Margaret Thatcher when she was Prime Minister and though he suffered a humiliating defeat he triggered a chain reaction which consumed Mrs Thatcher a year later. The Guardian on Saturday claimed that one MP was believed to be willing to play the "stalking horse'' but would not name him except that he was believed to be "someone with no ambition and no enemies within the party.''

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