19.9.03
Blair's Labour loses London seat
The Labour Party has lost a London-district seat in Parliament in what the Guardian describes as a "sensational" by-election victory for the Liberal Democrats.
The LibDem candidate beat the Labour candidate by over 1,000 votes in a district that Labour won in 2001 by over 13,000 votes. Not surprisingly, some voters in the district expressed a certain disgust with Blair and his policies:
Unless something really damning comes out during the Hutton inquiry, Blair will be at No. 10 until his term is over.
The Labour Party has lost a London-district seat in Parliament in what the Guardian describes as a "sensational" by-election victory for the Liberal Democrats.
The LibDem candidate beat the Labour candidate by over 1,000 votes in a district that Labour won in 2001 by over 13,000 votes. Not surprisingly, some voters in the district expressed a certain disgust with Blair and his policies:
Bernie Paul, 58, who is unemployed, said he voted for the Liberal Democrats. "I can't stand Blair. He is a puppet to the American President," he said.But is this the beginning of the anti-Blair revolution? I don't think so, simply because there is really no alternative at the moment. No one in Britain wants to see Iain Duncan Smith as prime minister. And although Charles Kennedy looks like a genius at the moment, the Liberal Democrats are not in a position to challenge for power at the national level. Nor do we see any indication that anyone in Labour itself is moving to overthrow Blair from within - on the contrary, London Mayor Ken Livingstone, one of three possible alternatives in my opinion (along with Robin Cook and perhaps Gordon Brown), was drafted by Labour to unsuccessfully push its candidate.
Unless something really damning comes out during the Hutton inquiry, Blair will be at No. 10 until his term is over.
