UK: Brown 'expects a fight for leadership'
British Chancellor Gordon Brown today indicated that he expects a fight for the Labour leadership when Tony Blair steps down as prime minister.
He said there would “probably” be a contest and urged anyone wanting to challenge him for the keys to 10 Downing Street to “please feel free to do so”, insisting he was ready to be put to the test.
However, he also appeared to hint that if he did not become PM, he would be ready to quit politics for charitable or community work outside Westminster.
Rejecting descriptions of him as someone whose whole life is bound up in political life, Mr Brown told the Daily Mail he would have no anxiety about “moving on” if he felt he could no longer make a difference in politics.
Asked if he was worried about the prospect of losing a leadership contest, he said: “The only thing that matters to me is doing the right thing.
“If I thought it was time to do something else, such as charity or community work, then I would do it.
“If I can’t make a difference in the job I’m doing... then I shall move on. But at the moment, I think I’ve got the experience and an idea of how the potential of this country can best be realised.
“At the moment, I feel I have something to offer for the future, but if there came a time when it was right to move on, it wouldn’t particularly worry me.
“People often talk about someone like me as a career politician, but I’m not. I’d rather do something useful than be in any particular job.”
Mr Brown said he did not know whether he would face a challenge from figures such as Environment Secretary David Miliband or former Home Secretary Charles Clarke.
But asked if he expects a contest, he replied: “I think there probably will be one.
“I just say to people that if they want to stand, then please feel free to do so, because I’m ready to put my views and experience to the test.
“That’s what a leadership contest is about. That’s what normally happens.
“Many people have a great deal to offer for the future. The question is, when the Labour Party makes its decision, can it get it right both in terms of the present and the future?”
Mr Blair is expected to announce his departure as Labour leader shortly after the elections to local councils and the devolved assemblies on May 3, triggering a seven-week campaign to choose a successor.
Left-wingers John McDonnell and Michael Meacher have declared their intention to challenge Mr Brown, but it is by no means clear that they will be able to muster the 44 nominations from other Labour MPs needed to get on to the ballot paper.
Mr Miliband – touted by some observers as the candidate from the Blairite wing of the party most likely to defeat the Chancellor – has indicated in the past few days that he will not stand.
But other potential Blairite contenders, including Mr Clarke, Home Secretary John Reid and former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, have yet to reveal their hands.
