Sometime between skipping Philosophy & Ethics and sitting down to eat my Chicken and Bacon pie with fried potato slices, fried onions, carrots and broccoli, Gordon Brown was deciding on how best to word his final bow to the nation. I've gotta say, it wasn't something I was expecting, but at the same time it wasn't surprising either.
So today, Gordon Brown announced that he'd be standing down as PM and leader of the Labour party before September. Why?
Let's look back to my post yesterday when I pointed out that the Brown/Clegg relationship could present a barrier to a Liberal Democrat/Labour coalition. That barrier has now fallen away, thanks to Gordon's selfless act. Brown is aware that he's not hugely liked by the electorate, and it takes a brave brave man to stand up and face that. He did what he believed was right for the Labour party, and for the country. By removing himself as an obstacle to coalition, he's given Clegg the opportunity to enter into talks with the Labour party without the prospect of the two ever having to work together. The creation of this coalition would ultimately serve the country better than any minority Conservative government could, simply due to the fact that we are a progressive, reformist and fair people. These are values that Cameron and his conservatives fail to understand, and it is these misunderstandings that will inevitably lead to their own downfall as they fight among themselves.
The problem with the Conservatives is in fact not Cameron. The party's problem is the majority of it's membership. Time and time again, Cameron has tried to present them as the party of change and liberation and of new beginnings! Time and time again, Cameron is thwarted by the divisive and repulsive force that is the Tory backbench. The party's parliamentary membership is anti-reform, anti-change, anti-new beginnings. David Cameron has made the mistake of trying to cover up his problems, rather than remove them. As it is, he's further proved that the idea of progressive conservatism is little more than an oxymoron.
What's more, he's done it again. Cameron's refusal to go further than offering a referendum on AV has been the downfall of his party in the ConDem negotiations. He couldn't bring about that real change and liberation that he's harped on so long about, because he knows that the Party would never accept it. Cameron knows that he's hit a brick wall, and the nail could not have been driven further in when the Liberal Democrats announced that they were to enter into formal negotiations with Labour.
So what about Gordon? He's been in the job for 3 years, presided over on of the unluckiest political periods of our time and simply could not match up to the charisma and charm of his predecessor. Did Brown do anything wrong? Not particularly - apart from abolishing the 10p tax rate, which was a move he later admitted was wrong. Gordon didn't cause the expenses scandal, Gordon didn't cause Global economic melt down, Gordon didn't cause a volcanic eruption, but these periods of public contempt for authority summed up and were unceremoniously dumped on the shoulders of a man who had such high hopes and ambitions, a man whose vast multitude of good deeds have been forgotten, who waited for his opportunity for 10 long years, but ultimately a man who was able to swallow his pride and take the full force of public anger into his stride like the statesman he is. Gordon Brown didn't deserve any of this, but he has remained loyal and patriotic to the country from the beginning of his saga. He has bowed out of the show with such dignity and courage that I find it hard not to feel a welling up of sadness for him. He has truly been the right person to lead us through the last 3 years. Now he's stepped aside because he knows that the Lib Dems will not work with Labour with him in place.
That's courage.
That's loyalty.
That's a true British Prime Minister.
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