If you haven’t already, do read John Rentoul’s column in today’s Independent on Sunday. It is the first time that a major commentator sympathetic to New Labour has seriously suggested that Gordon Brown won’t make it to the next election.
Rentoul predicts that Brown will recover and then fizzle again. Here’s what happens next in his scenario:
“This time next year, therefore, after Brown’s second bounce has dribbled away, the party is likely to turn to David Miliband. Fittingly, he foretold Brown’s woes. Nine months ago he said on BBC1’s Question Time: “I predict that when I come back on this programme in six months’ time or a year, people will be saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have that Blair back because we can’t stand that Gordon Brown.'” He meant that to lead is to offend, but unconsciously hit on the dynamic that would propel him upwards.
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