Blair Refuses to Back Gordon Brown

25/09/2006| IslamWeb

British Prime Minister Tony Blair refused yesterday to give a clear indication of support for Finance Minister Gordon Brown as his successor, despite repeated questions on the subject.

In an interview with BBC television, Blair - attending his last Labour Party annual conference as leader - was asked to respond to a newspaper report that he would not publicly endorse Brown to delegates at the five-day event.

Blair, who has previously said he thought Brown would make a "brilliant" prime minister, said: "I'm not getting into the leadership contest and all of the rest of it.

"Gordon has been a fantastic chancellor (of the exchequer). He's been a great servant of the country and the party. I don't resile from anything I've said but this week I'm talking to the public about the public's concerns.

"Both of us realise... that the most important thing is that this week we set out our agenda for the future. It's important the two of us work together with the rest of the cabinet for the future." Blair, who has led Labour since 1994 and is its most successful leader, having taken the party to three straight general election victories, said it was "perfectly understandable" the media should focus on the succession.

Speculation has long been rife about the fractious nature of the two men's relations, particularly after a number of Labour legislators loyal to Brown rounded on Blair earlier this month, demanding he set a date for his departure.

The row, which saw eight junior government aides resign, was allegedly orchestrated by Brown, although he denied any involvement.

Blair said yesterday it was more important for Labour delegates to concentrate on the party's future direction and policy to reverse a decline in the polls to the main opposition Conservative Party.

At the same time, Brown set out his stall as Blair's successor, telling the Sunday Telegraph of the need for "new politics", with greater parliamentary and public accountability plus devolution of power to local communities.

That included changing the running of Britain's public National Health Service in the same way that he handed the power to set interest rates from the executive to Britain's central bank, the Bank of England, in 1997, he added.

In a separate BBC television interview, Brown said there would be continuity from Blair in many areas, like foreign policy and Britain's relationship with the United States, but the "Bank of England model" could be applied elsewhere. He played down the significance of Blair's refusal to endorse him as his successor to conference delegates.

PHOTO CAPTION

Britain's finance minister Gordon Brown. (AFP)