When Mr Blair decides to step down, is it not the deputy PM that takes over?

Question

I did not vote Gordon Brown in and would not welcome him becoming PM without a valid Public Vote.

Answer 1

Apart from people in Fife, nobody voted Gordon Brown in. In UK we vote for our own local representative, not the PM.

If you did vote for your Labour Party candidate, you did so knowing that the party leader Tony Blair was not going to complete a full term as PM and that there would have to be a Labour leadership election during the course of this government. There has already been a valid public vote in 2005 -it resulted in the Labour Party forming the Government with whoever leads them as PM.

Answer 2

When Blair steps down he will, in effect, resign from leadership of the Labour Party. There will then be an election for the leadership of the Labour Party and the newly-elected leader will become the new Prime Minister.

I would guess that from the moment he steps down to when Gordon Brown is crowned .... er .... to when the results of a fair and democratic vote are announced, the country will be in the tender care of John ("Two Shags") Prescott - and God help us all.

Needless to say, the majority of people who (foolishly, in my opinion) voted Labour at the last election because it was led by Tony Blair will have no say in who the new Prime Minister is.

The simple truth is that Gordon Brown is unelectable as Prime Minister in a General Election and the only way he's ever likely to get into Number 10 is by being smuggled in the back door which Blair will leave open for him as he skulks off to become President of Europe or whatever he wants to do.

Answer 3

If Blair were killed or had to resign immediately, instead of announcing his retirement and a lengthy handover, then Prescott would take over temporarily. But there is nothing in the British constitution saying we even need a Deputy PM, let alone that the Queen has to summon him to succeed the PM, and remember, there was no 'public vote' for Prescott, only a party vote. When Thatcher, Wilson, Macmillan, Eden and Churchill retired they were not succeeded by their deputy PMs; I'm not even sure all of those leaders had one.

Answer 4

Its up to the party to decide who leads it when Blair goes. Don't worry though as i would put money on it that even if Brown was the next leader that labour wont win the next election. They have taken us for granted for too long now and the public know it.

Answer 5

Was he not on the ticket with Blair? I'm not sure how it works in the UK. In the US the president and the vice president are elected as a unit i.e. Bush, Cheney.

Answer 6

Lets hope Democracy still prevails in the UK and there will be a free vote and no arm twisting or monies payed by the oil companies like we have it in the US.

Answer 7

Hopefully. JP knows how to deal with immigrants, Sudan, Iraq and Afganistan. With a swift jab in the jaw!!!

Answer 8

John Prescott? are we in the Land of Oz again ?
The answer is a General Election so the people of the UK can decide.

Answer 9

You didn't vote Blair in either... you voted for the party.... it's up to them who they choose to head their party and not you the common voter....

Glad to see someone can admit to voting the idiots in again though... so bravo to you.

Answer 10

that is the benefit of democracy. the fact that before the election you can reject a candidate. unless someone wins a mandate from the people then they are a false whatever. {don't raise my taxes}