A new theory...
Further to on today's "Blair to go by May" ... I have a new theory for you.
Labour now fears that it may lose both Blaenau by-elections and come a poor third or even fourth in Bromley. This would come a day before the party's National Policy Forum meets. Friends of the PM were trying to pre-empt a possible post by-election panic.
Comments
Woah! Lab lose the Assembly seat and the Westminster seat for a second time. That's going to have implications not only on Tony Blair, but Rhodri Morgan as well.
Blair cannot go after such a failure by New Labour, that would have the smack of panic.
Nice to know though that the Blaenau electorate are true to the history - Nye Bevan etc.
The Lib Dems only got so many votes in Bromley and Chislehurst because Labour made no effort whatsoever to get votes. I think Labour supporters just wanted to send a message to the Tories that they shouldn't take Bromley and Chislehurst for granted.
In a general election I'm sure that half the people that voted Lib Dem will vote Labour. I know I will.
If the Tories win the next election and stop Scottish, Welsh and NI MPs from voting on English issues (as they plan to) it will mean the New/Labour party may never achieve power again in England. Only at the height of New Labour did they have a majority in England. This may put Labour out of power for 12 years or more. Labour would have to move to the right to gain more English seats at the cost of losing Scottish, Welsh and NI seats. This would accelerate devolution further. The only future I can see is a new Lib-Lab party. So often the seeds of destruction are well rooted before they are noticed.