| Gordon Brown |
| The issue: |
I have two points I wish to make.
It is said by the media and indeed by himself that Gordon Brown in the heir apparent to the prime ministership.
Surely this is not constitutional. We as a nation voted NEW LABOUR into government with Tony Blair as the leader. We did not vote NEW LABOUR in with Gordon Brown as leader. In other words, this is being foist upon us without our say so and is actually the selection of only a small part of our nation.
Please note that this is not a political point because I also did not think it was right with John Major nor with Jim Callaghan before him.
If the prime minister chooses to step down, the electorate should be given a choice in respect of the new potential prime minister.
This point should be given to David Cameron to hopefully embarrass the goverment because it is something that this government should answer to the electorate.
I have no problem with Gordon Brown being the new NEW LABOUR leader, but I do with a man becoming a prime minister who was instrumental in selling off a large chunk of our gold reserves at a knock down price to large scale investors.
When he did this, gold was about $255 per oz. It is now $540 per oz and is set to go up even further. Calculate the loss for yourself.
This is supposed to be the best chancellor for generations. Ugh.....
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| Date Issue Raised: |
14 Feb 2006 |
| My response: |
Many thanks for the email, which raises an interesting question.
The constitutional position is slightly different from that which you describe. At a General Election, you vote for a Member of Parliament. He or she will usually belong to a political party. When the result of the election is known, the Monarch sends for the leader of which ever party can secure a majority in the House of Commons. It is the Commons – and in effect the largest party in the Commons – that determines who is Prime Minister.
The USA has a different arrangement, whereby the Chief Executive is directly elected by the people.
As you say, Parliament can change who is Prime Minister without there being a General Election. I have no difficulty with this as I believe we are a Parliamentary democracy. If people don’t like what their MP has done, they can get rid of him or her next time!
Best wishes, George Young
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Sir George Young Bt MP: Constituency and Parliamentary Website