Daniel Korski

Gordon Brown knows he is finished

Gordon Brown knows he is finished. My prediction is that he will not use his constitutional right to hang on if the Tories are the largest party in a hung parliament. OK, the Labour leader might try to stay in No 10 – for a second, maybe a minute, perhaps even an academic quarter, trying desperately to persuade a triumphant Nick Clegg that a Lib-Lab coalition is vital for Britain, and that the Tories are evil and must be resisted.

But he will soon give up, throw down the phone in anger, shout at Stewart Wood, ask his colleagues to leave him alone and sit in the office alone for a minute, acknowledging his Greek fate. Sue Nye and Peter Mandelson will come in and they all will discuss what kind of message to give the waiting cameras – graceful exit, apocalyptic warnings from the No 10 threshold or a teary, sympathy-reaching “I-gave-it-my-all-for-a-country-I-love” statement.

He will then turn to his new task – staying on as Labour leader or ensuring that a disciple gets a leg up in the next leadership election — anything to deny David Miliband the party crown. He will be marshalling the arguments in his head – that he ran the Tories close, much closer than anyone would have thought possible six months ago; and that he is the only one trusted enough to battle the Tories on the economy, their main focus in government.

Unlock unlimited access, free for a month

then subscribe from as little as £1 a week after that
SUBSCRIBE

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in