Brit DUers, why didn't the Labor front another candidate instead of Blair?

[Skidmore]

I know it's a stupid question, given that we got ourselves another round of Little Boots with the help of Diebold and Blackwell. Did you have similar election fraud or wasn't there any one else?

[Totally Committed]

1. I think this is true:

He's the head of his Party, and until somoene challenges him and wins that postion from him, he is the candidate they have to run.

Years ago, when I was trying to find away around Margeret Thatcher, that's what I understood had to happen. (I was told that by an American who had lived in Britain for a while, so I could be wrong, because she might have been.)

TC

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. They think it would be a sign of weakness to kick out a leader

So they stick with the one they've got. Plus, a lot of the MPs (who are the ones who have the power to kick him out) are just as despicable as he is.

Everyone expects Gordon Brown, the current head of the Treasury, to succeed Blair (and in fact opinion polls showed that voters preferred him as Labour leader). What isn't clear is how different he'd be. He and Blair have various supporters who occasionally leak bad stories about the other to the press, but in public Brown always supports Blair.

Over half of the Labour MPs voted for the invasion of Iraq - 247, versus 139 against it. 28 abstained. http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2003-03-18&number=117

[mr blur]

3. No fraud

except for the disparity between the things they say before they win and the things they do afterwards. Whichever party wins the election, the leader of that party is invited (by the queen - a formality) to form a government. They thus become PM. We tend to vote for parties, not individuals. If the leader of the party loses his own seat then whoever was new leader would become PM. Never going to happen, of course as they always stand in safe seats.

There is no-one in the Labour Party strong enough to dethrone Bliar, except maybe Brown, and he's just waiting patiently for his turn. It's just a case of how long he must wait.