Blair places 'war on terror' at heart of election campaign

[T_i_B]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=582748

Tony Blair has decided to confront opponents of the Iraq war head on by placing the "war on terror" at the heart of Labour's campaign in the coming general election.

The Prime Minister has privately admitted that attempts to "move on" from Iraq are doomed to failure. He has ordered a new "twin-track" strategy for the election, expected this spring, based on the themes of "opportunity and security". The Prime Minister's closest allies say there is no point "bewailing" the focus on events in Iraq, and that Labour must do all it can to turn it to electoral advantage.

The Labour Party's senior strategists plan to make a virtue of Mr Blair's track record as a war leader at a time of increased terrorist threat. They were put on alert yesterday for the prospect of a visit to Britain in February by President George Bush. The White House confirmed a tour of European countries to build support for the war on terror.

Plans to fight the next election on a domestic agenda of public service reform have been shelved. Instead the party will present security as a necessary condition for opportunity at every level. Critics will claim that Labour has decided to fight a negative campaign based on exploiting voters' fears.

[maddezmom]

1. rove taking a sabbatical to help out the poodle???

:shrug:

[Cerridwen]

7. My first thought, as well, when I read the title of the thread.

I hope the people in the UK don't get suckered the way so many in the U.S. did.

[ixion]

2. taking a que from chimpy

it sounds like. Cry wolf at the shadows on the wall, spread fear in the minds of the sheeple... they just need to go the final yard and rig their election. :evilgrin:

[Missy M]

3. Bush's European tour should be interesting....

I wonder how he will be received this time.

[leesa]

11. He'll have to find a different island to meet with his "allies"

[SoCalDem]

4. Watch out Tony.... Your voters might have a fair election

and you'll be out on your ass:)

[T_i_B]

6. Blair has a landslide majority

and as such it's going to be very difficult to kick him out, particularly when the main opposition are the Conservative party, who are a bit of a mess if you ask me. They've just sacked Boris Johnson from the from bench over an affair he had (which is all over the front pages over here) so the tories are not exactly in a good way at present.

And the Liberal Democrats, however good they may be are still a third party with no hope of getting power unless they can get in as part of a coalition in a hung parliament.

[mrfrapp]

8. Alternative

The alternative to removing Labour from the Government benches is to simply remove Blair from his constituency. The idea is for the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the other fringe parties to stand down in Sedgefield in favour of an independent, anti-war candidate. If this was agreed upon and the independent won, Blair could no longer be Prime Minister despite being the leader of the Labour party because he is neither elected to the House of Commons nor a Lord.

Having said that, Blair's share of the vote in Sedgefield is a shade under %65 so it's easier said than done. However, that figure is down by %6 on the 1997 election so the trend is away from Blair even without the post 2001 happenings. With that in mind, the %50+ share required by the independent candiate seems possible, albeit unlikely.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. Having lived in Britain...

I think I can say that many, many British subjects will be suggesting that Tony piss right orf, call him a load of cobblers and vote for anyone else that strikes their fancy.

I do believe he will be taking Carlyle up on their offer.

[Crunchy Frog]

9. So, Thankfully

do you feel like your country is turning into another United States? It kind of sounds that way to me and I find it really sad. I've always really loved your country.:-(

[gmoney]

10. Hugh Grant for PM?

Now that he's retired from acting, I bet he could win... life imitates romantic comedies yet again.

[Capt_Nemo]

12. Somebody better tell Blair that such strategy only works in countries

where half the population consists of semi-literate bigots.

Blair's problem is that in the UK almost everybody is aware
that there is no link between Saddam and Al-Qaeda and that
he lied his country into a war against a non-existent threat.

But hey, I'm with him on this one all the way!
I'm all for this suicidal strategy! It's a good way as any to wipe out
his majority!

[VegasWolf]

13. Rove isn't loaning them his "voting machines"???