However, in the corners of the hotel bar, which usually sees more footballers and their wives than Labour politicians, plotting was afoot. “The
talk was all about how long Gordon can go on,” said one who was present. “It had been another torrid week and the question being asked in private
was: will he survive until the election?”
One former minister put forward an argument that would have been unthinkable 12 months ago. “It is valid to ask whether we are at the situation the
Tories were in the autumn of 1990, when they pondered the coup d’état against Margaret Thatcher,” he said.
Now this is interesting. Given Labour's poor poll ratings and jittery back bench MPs, it seems a discussion has begun to emerge which seriously
questions Brown's position both as party leader and Prime Minister.
It's virtually certain that nothing will happen now - for the moment it might just be disgruntled Blairites and others causing a fuss. But if the
local elections in England and Wales go badly for Labour, and if Ken Livingstone loses the London Mayoral election, a serious challenge to Gordon
Brown
might be posed before the next general election, similar to the events in 1990 leading to Margaret Thatcher's downfall.
At the moment it appears to be just speculation and gossip, but given the surprising events of the last twelve months I wouldn't be surprised to find
we had Jack Straw or David Milliband as Prime Minister in a year or two.
