Brown unopposed

Gordon Brown seems to have secured the backing of enough MPs to ensure he will not face a contest to become the next Labour leader and prime minister. Mr Brown has 308 nominations, John McDonnell has only secured 29 nominations, and cannot now obtain enough nominations to force a ballot. Dr Tony Wright, MP for Cannock Chase, made the nomination that ruled out an election.

No big surprise about the leadership election. Even if John McDonnell secured enough nominations he would have been trounced I fear

More speculation

Home Secretary John Reid has been urged to take over the leadership of the Scottish Labour Party. The SNP victory at the Holyrood elections has led to speculation that Jack McConnell will face a leadership challenge.

Mr Reid has announced that he would leave the Cabinet after Prime Minister Tony Blair leaves office next month. Labour MP Brian Donohoe suggested that John Reid could come to Scotland to lead the party after he stands down. He added there should a by-election in one of the party's Holyrood seats, which Mr Reid could then contest. Once elected as an MSP, he could then become the party leader.

A spokeswoman for the Labour Party dismissed talk of a leadership challenge, saying there was no vacancy and the party was united behind Jack McConnell .

Sounds like McConnell is doomed then....

Brown government speculation 1?

A new leadership means lots of speculation over who is going to take which cabinet post. The People (not usual reading for me) wades in with the “news” that Jack Straw doesn’t want a return to the Home Office, a post he held in the first Blair government (1997-2001), or the Foreign Office for that matter. Apparently he wants to move to 11 Downing Street as Chancellor. This could see Trade Secretary Alistair Darling become Home Secretary with promotions for allies Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper.

Meanwhile, Mr Brown intends to downgrade the role of deputy Prime Minister, with whoever gets it expected to spend most time liaising with the party – a good idea in my view.

All interesting stuff, I suppose – we will see a hell of a lot of this before Brown actually announces his cabinet next month.

A flying start?

Although it looks very much that Gordon Brown will not face a serious challenge for the labour leadership - he will easily brush aside a bid by either John McDonnell or Michael Meacher – it is good to see that he has come out fighting. It is essential he does this if he is to demonstrate to the electorate that his leadership represents a change of direction. The worst thing possible is that he is seen as the “new boss, same as the old boss” as it could well hand Cameron the keys to number 10.

Today’s Observer sets out Gordon Brown’sblueprint which includes:

• New eco-homes in specially designed 'green towns' so the public can buy affordable homes that have a low impact on the environment.

• Have doctors' surgeries open at the weekend and GPs on call in the evenings so that patients to not have to wait for appointments during working hours.

• Stripping Number 10 of some of the powers conferred on it by 'royal prerogative' - particularly the ability to declare war should only be done with the approval of
These of course are only a start but it seems that a change of leadership is already having an effect: A YouGov poll in the Sunday Times shows Brown closing the gap on Cameron (The Tories are now 3 points ahead of Labour, compared to seven in the last poll and a major drubbing just at the local elections).

Transferring elements of the royal prerogative (the powers exercised by the Prime Minister on behalf of the monarch) to Parliament is all well and good (yes it is good). However, to be on track to win the next election he will need to withdraw from Iraq (that should bring back some of that delivered protest votes last time or didn’t vote at all) and attend to the key issues that concern the voters, in particular the NHS. Brown does not have a magic wand but demonstrable progress will make a big difference.