Norwich North by-election result weakens Gordon Brown further

On Friday the Conservatives secured a 7,348 seat majority in Norwich North, making Chloe Smith the youngest MP at 27.

This used to be a safe seat for Labour but the way in which Dr. Ian Gibson was dropped by his party, meant that in reality Labour never had any chance of retaining this seat.

Like many MPs Dr. Gibson was caught up in the expenses scandal, for claiming for a flat in which his daughter lived rent-free before selling it to her for half its market value.

Regret

There is little doubt that Dr. Gibson would have regretted this, but his constituents still valued him greatly as an MP and did not want to lose him.

The decision then from Gordon Brown to tell Dr. Gibson he would not be allowed to stand as an MP at the next election, was not welcomed by the people of Norwich North.

One could argue that what Gibson did was not any worse than what other MPs did who kept their jobs. So why was he singled out? If the Labour leadership was connected to its grass roots then this decision would never have been made.

Brown attacked

The Labour MP Barry Sheerman, has today decided to launch an attack on Gordon Brown saying he had until "this summer to show he's got the capability to do it." Shearman was at the forefront of previous calls for Brown to go so this is no real surprise, but calls for the PM's head will not go away.

Gordon Brown has failed as a leader and any Labour supporter must surely be despairing at the mess their party is in. Put simply there is no chance that Gordon Brown can lead the Labour party into a general election win in 2010.

So why are Labour persevering with Gordon Brown? It could be that no-one else in the party wants to be put their neck out in what is a difficult time for the country.

Defeatist

If they wait until after the likely election defeat, then the successor will be able to start again with a fesh slate, something they could not do now. But this is surely a depressing way of going about politics, when personal ambition becomes more important than sorting the country out.

By sleep-walking into an election defeat Labour are leaving the country in a vulnerable state. A lame-duck government is no good for anyone, especially when the economy is in such a dire state.

What is needed now is a general election, and the sooner the better. Britain needs a fresh start under a fresh government.

Like many long serving governments, New Labour has now run its course and change is needed urgently.