Who's right

We have long known of G.Brown's inability to admit an error. (Before him Blair would apologise for other's mistakes, the nation's, but seldom his own, - does it go with the job?)

Presumably while voters by a large majority, membership of his party (according to a YouGov survey) and probably a majority of MPs of all parties all want an general election soon, we are unlikely to get one as our Dear Leader knows better.

I think that the only people who want one for dispassionate reasons, with little self interest, are the general citizenry. Brown doesn't because he knows best (or thinks that his only chance is to hang on, in common with the some MPs, in the hope of something happening to improve the chance of re-election.) Among other Labour MPs the desire to remove him is to improve re-election prospects.

Among Tories, it is difficult to know what they think. Are they pleased with the living dead carrying on, a dead-duck PM and a superannuated cabinet? They might be, if they doubt that significant green shoots of recovery will come by next May. Or do they think that after expense-gate and Thursday's election, the sooner an election is held the better. In any event, while they may believe that their policies are best, their concern is to maximise the chance of election.

The electorate, who change governments about every 10 years when they grow tired of them or their broken promises, are probably the only people who are not thinking in purely in self-interest.

So what will happen? If the Labour rebels manage to drag G. Brown from his throne, and install another leader, then there would be a prospect an an election in the autumn. Surely Labour would not expect yet another unelected leader to be anything more than a caretaker?

Otherwise, expect a long attrition until the Labour Party Conference in September, when something could happen, even without a new leader. But if he can persuade them that he really is an all-knowing superman .....