The Telegraph is reporting that Alan Johnson’s announcement last Tuesday that he was abandoning his party’s flagship policy on compulsory ID cards was made without prior consultation with the Prime Minister.
If this is true, it is truly astonishing news and demonstrates a significant further erosion of the Prime Minister’s authority, already seriously undermined by Peter Mandelson and Alistair Darling.
Brown clearly recognises the threat from Johnson, the cabinet minister most likely to mount a leadership challenge, and is already mustering his defences. The Telegraph reports a “Labour MP who is a strong supporter of Mr Brown” briefing heavily against the Home Secretary:
“Alan has been behaving a bit strangely since going to the Home Office.
“He seems to spend a lot of time closeted behind closed doors with his key advisers rather than getting to know the whole department.
“You hear worrying things from his supporters – that they are going to have another go at Gordon at conference and stuff like that.”
It could well come sooner than that. The Norwich North by-election will be held on the last day of the current Parliamentary term. If Labour do badly, it could well trigger a new assault on Gordon Brown’s leadership.
The prospect of another summer of internecine strife within the Labour party is becoming increasingly likely.
