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Britain's Brown Reshuffles Cabinet In Fight To Save His Political Life
06-06-2009 8:18 am - Kevin Sullivan - Washington Post
Prime Minister Gordon Brown fought to save his political life Friday with a major cabinet reshuffle following another high-profile ministerial resignation and increasing calls from within his own Labor Party for him to step down.

The moves come as Labor appeared headed for a historic drubbing in elections for local councils and the European Parliament that were held Thursday. Early results of the elections showed Labor running a weak third behind the resurgent Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, who find themselves ahead of Labor for the first time in years.

Political analysts in London said the reshuffle could be Brown's last chance to put down a rebellion within his party and turn around an administration battered by a failing economy and a parliamentary expense-abuse scandal that has reached to the top levels of his cabinet.

Details of the reshuffle began leaking out Friday morning in the British media.

In the most high-profile shift, Health Minister Alan Johnson, widely touted as a potential successor to Brown, was reportedly moving to home secretary, replacing Jacqui Smith, who resigned earlier this week following disclosure of irregularities in her parliamentary expense account.

Home secretary is among the most important jobs in the government, with responsibility over all domestic security matters. Johnson released a statement Friday morning saying: "I continue to believe that Gordon Brown is the best man for the job. It is vital now, more than ever, that we unite for the sake of the party and the government."

Brown also tapped flamboyant business mogul Alan Sugar to be "enterprise czar," with responsibility for promoting British business. Sugar, 62, who made a vast fortune selling electronics, is something of a British version of Donald Trump. He is famous for his hot temper and blunt words, hosts a reality TV show called "The Apprentice" and drives around London in an attention-grabbing Rolls-Royce with licenses plate bearing his initials, "AMS 1."

Notably, Alistair Darling, the chancellor of the exchequer, or finance minister, was reported to be remaining in his job despite widespread speculation that Brown would move him. Darling, who had relatively minor problems with his expense account, has been Brown's chief ally in steering Britain through the global financial crisis.

The crisis has been double-edged for Brown. While soaring unemployment and a collapsed housing market have dragged down the government's popularity, Brown's handling of the crisis, at home and internationally, has widely been seen as the high point of his two years in office and has helped keep his popularity ratings from sinking even lower.

Months of percolating problems for Brown boiled over this week, as the expenses scandal claimed high-profile jobs and Labor braced for deep losses in the elections. Already in recent days, Brown has endured the resignations of Smith, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and two more junior ministers.

The situation for Brown became even more dire late Thursday evening with the resignation of Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell, who is widely seen as a rising star in the party and is closely associated with former prime minister Tony Blair.

Purnell, in a public resignation letter that was published on the front page of several London newspapers Friday, specifically called on Brown to "stand aside to give our party a fighting chance of winning" the next general election, which must be held by May 2010.

"I owe it to our party to say what I believe no matter how hard that may be," wrote Purnell. "I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely."

Purnell's was the first open call for Brown to resign, and analysts here said it could encourage other unhappy Labor members to follow suit. In recent days the U.K. media has been filled with stories about a behind-the-scenes effort by Labor members of parliament to topple Brown.

Under party rules, the rebels could force a leadership change if they obtain support from 70 Labor members of parliament. According to various reports, the rebels may have more than enough votes, and could confront Brown openly if Labor does as badly in the elections as predicted by polls showing the party with support of 20 percent of voters - or fewer.

Brown has argued passionately this week that he is the right person to lead the country through difficult economic times, and to overhaul the expenses system that led to disclosures that have left Britons disgusted and demanding reform.

Several of his top aides appeared on television and radio Friday morning to back Brown. One, Defense Secretary John Hutton, told the BBC that Purnell had made "the wrong decision" and that Brown was the "right man to lead our party and our country."

Before the morning was over, the BBC announced that Hutton, too, had stepped down from his post amid the cabinet reshuffle. Hutton said that despite his departure he continued to support Brown as prime minister. "We have a government in complete chaos," Conservative leader David Cameron told the BBC. "We really do deserve better than this."

LIBERTYNEWS: You can read this article by Washington Post Foreign Service correspondent Kevin Sullivan, reporting from London, England, in context here:

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