The reporters commented how much difference there was between the departure of a Prime Minister in the UK and the departure of a President in the United States. Of course there is the clear distinction that the British Prime Minister is not Head of State but in terms of power, his writ runs at least as powerfully within his own domain.
This particular handover was unique however. Previous resignations have either been because of the loss of a General Election (John Major the most recent of those) or having been forced out of office by one's own Party (Margaret Thatcher being the most recent of those). In this case Tony Blair, partly due to the generosity of his Party at last September's Party Conference deciding not to force his hand, was in a position to resign on a date of his own choosing. Thus it was the most civilised and relaxed handover for many years.
To many outsiders, particularly Americans perhaps, the British system for changing leaders appears very brutal, even given such a peaceful transition as today's. Tony Blair drove to Buckingham Palace in the official armoured Prime Ministerial limousine to inform the Queen personally of his resignation. Thirty minutes later he emerged as plain old Tony Blair, the official limousine had gone and he and Cherie departed for Sedgefield, Blair's Parliamentary Constituency, in a private Vauxhall car. Gone was the entourage of security men, though of course some security would still be there given the climate of the times and the dangers of terrorism. But basically it was 'Come in Prime Minister....Goodbye Tony'. Some thirty minutes later, the reverse happened. Gordon Brown and his wife drove to the Palace in a private car and, after a much longer audience with the Queen, drove back to Downing Street in the official limousine with hordes of security agents in tow.
So Britain has a new Prime Minister and the old one has been despatched with courtesy but minimal fuss. He doesn't retain any honorary titles or some kind of official retinue..he is just plain old Tony Blair, and perhaps thats how it should be.
Which brings me to a constant teeth gritting bugbear for me when I hear people, mainly those who want a change of Government, claiming that when a British Prime Minister resigns or retires there should be a General Election. NO NO NO ABSOLUTELY NOT!! These people seem to have no grasp of our constitutional position. As I said earlier, the Prime Minister is NOT President of the UK. He is the first among equals chosen by his Party. In this country we do NOT directly elect the Prime Minister..we elect the Party of which he is a member. If that Party has enough Parliamentary seats , its leader can go to the Queen and ask to form a government. From that point on, the ruling party can legitimately change its leader..and our Prime Minister..any time it wants to. Of course any new leader would have to again go to the Queen out of respect for the Monarch and say he or she was still in a position to govern, but there is absolutely no requirement, certainly legal or, in my opinion, moral either, to go to the country in an election.
So what now? Mr Brown made a hesitant start when he spoke to the Press outside Downing Street but I suspect this is because he is not a media man like Blair. He is an intellectual and a doer. I suspect the hesitancy will not extend to his decision making.
And what of Tony Blair? It is suggested that he is to be given the role of Middle East envoy and while I think his talents as a conciliator are considerable, I fear that this role will throw up tremendous opposition in many Arab lands. He was the joint architect of the Iraq war and also backed the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon last year. I wish him well, despite my angry renunciation of our role in Iraq, and I wish him success in this new job, should it be his. Blair does have a talent for getting people together and heaven knows the disparate forces at work in the Middle East need all the help they can get.
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