Peter Oborne

Why Blair and Howard are both lame ducks

Why Blair and Howard are both lame ducks

In the normal course of events the start of a new parliament is marked by a strong sense of energy and purpose: new MPs finding their way about; freshly appointed ministers awash with ambition and ideas; a revalidated government secure of its democratic mandate and determined to drive things forward.

But the start of this parliamentary term feels like the fag end of an old administration rather than the start of a new one. MPs have already started to congregate in small, conspiratorial groups. The Whips’ Offices of all parties already yearn for the recess, still eight weeks away. The reason for this unseasonal lassitude is easy to identify. The general election and its aftermath have clarified nothing, and only made things rather worse.

The result was not good enough to strengthen the Prime Minister, nor bad enough to polish him off at once. Instead he has been left swinging in the wind. Last week Tony Blair tried, but failed, to recover the initiative with his Queen’s Speech. What it lacked in quality it made up for in quantity, and it will in due course impose a mass of fresh, burdensome legislation upon the British people.

Sunday’s referendum on the European constitution promises a set of new problems. If the French vote ‘non’ — now the likely outcome — Tony Blair will be spared the necessity of leading pro-Europeans to probable defeat in the British referendum. But there is much to be said for fighting that referendum from the Prime Minister’s point of view. It would give him a sense of purpose and above all a natural date after which he could stand down in favour of Gordon Brown. Without that the issue of when the Prime Minister goes will re-emerge, and the Chancellor will grow yet more impatient.

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