Coup against Blair would be a disaster

[JoFerret]

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/elections2004/story/0,14549,1232449,00.html

Livingstone's warning as Labour faces election wipeout

Gaby Hinsliff, chief political correspondent
Sunday June 6, 2004
The Observer

Ken Livingstone today warns Labour rebels that trying to overthrow Tony Blair could destroy the party, amid fears that a wipeout in this week's local elections could trigger an attempted coup.

Anger over the war in Iraq, combined with a surge in Eurosceptic feeling, has left Downing Street confronting grim prospects at the ballot box on Thursday. Privately some left-wingers are considering using poor results as the springboard to regime change.

However Livingstone, now fighting for re-election as London Mayor on a Labour ticket, warned that the decision over Blair's future should be left to the electorate for fear of triggering the kind of crisis that crippled the Tories in the Nineties.

'I don't think the Tory Party ever recovered from getting rid of Mrs Thatcher. It was something the voters should have done,' he told The Observer. 'I am certain Tony Blair will lead the party into the next general election, and I say to people who are saying "I will never vote Labour again", your choice is Michael Howard or Tony Blair.' Although infighting between the Brown and Blair camps has died down, fear of a drubbing at the polls has revived rumours of a plot to oust the Prime Minister at this autumn's party conference.

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[D-Notice]

1. I wonder

How many Labour MPs actually care what Livingstone says?

Sacked from Labour as he stands against the offical candidate, wins, then gets Bliar crawling back to him... :)

However, he'd have got more respect if he'd told Bliar to go fuck himself, as he didn't there's a good chance he might not be re-elected, which might explain this statement

Still he's right to commpare Bliar to Maggie - both right-wings nutters, who couldn't give a toss about anyone else, esp when they disagree with them. Wonder if Bliar hits anyone with a handbag? ;-)