While Gordon Brown spends his summer vacation in Scotland, possibly looking for a new job, and his ‘stand-ins’ try to make the headlines in the national press, it is time to start wondering how Labour is going to survive the next few years.
Given the public’s disappointment over recent political events and our perception of a lack of leadership in all things that matter to us mere mortals, it seems almost a certainty that the Conservatives will be asked to form a government after the next election – due by the Spring of next year.
That timing causes another problem for the present government, as all the difficult and unpopular decisions (to save us from ourselves) need to be implemented before then, meaning the government will face even more resentment from the voting public before polling day arrives.
The financial pain created by paying back the huge public borrowing deficit will be an enormous burden to the average voter.
Added to which, there is also the likelihood there will be attempts to replace GB as leader before, or during, the Autumn party conference.
If the Conservatives do gain power next year, they will be able to claim that none of the hardship we are all suffering was of their making and they will probably retain power for years – especially if the financial conditions gradually improve and we all start to feel better.
Not a very attractive proposition for Labour, so how do they tackle it?
The easiest way would be to accept they are going to lose, but limit the fallout.
If they were to call a snap autumn election this year, they will almost certainly place the Conservatives into government and thereby force them into the spotlight to take the blame over what will be necessary, but unpopular, decisions.
They will avoid the PR nightmare of having to force out their leader and be able to gently sideline him, while he eventually steps down to ‘spend more time with my family’.
They will have sidestepped having to make the difficult decisions over our increasingly unpopular role in Afghanistan and will be able to criticise our new government from the safety of the opposition benches.
In short they will be able to re-build quietly and covertly.
It is very likely that the Conservatives will have been exposed as being nothing more than hype and, have themselves become so unpopular after their first four year term, they will be removed at the following election.
The new re-invented shiny Labour will, by then, have regained the public’s confidence enough to return to power.
See? it’s easy really…let’s just hope they don’t think of it!!
