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azzuri · 'Our Scotland' Fossil Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 3776

see - http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=469912006

Brown to ditch deputy in No 10

GORDON Brown plans to stamp his authority on the post-Blair political landscape by governing without a deputy if, as expected, he succeeds the Prime Minister into 10 Downing Street before the next election.

The Chancellor is set to scrap the traditional post of Deputy Prime Minister, in a clear signal that he is in no mood to use the Cabinet position as a unifying force between political wings of his future ministerial teams.

Details of the plans, part of the "handover programme" being drawn up by Britain's most senior civil servants in preparation for Tony Blair's departure, emerged amid rumours that Brown was planning to anoint a young Blairite minister as his deputy.

David Miliband, a former director of the No 10 Policy Unit and long-term Blair acolyte, was reported to be in line for the post, in an early attempt to head off the internal feuding Blair's exit could unleash.

John Prescott has performed the crucial role of "referee" between Blair and Brown throughout their frequent damaging disputes during almost nine years in the post of Deputy Prime Minister.

Brown has acknowledged that Prescott's parallel position as deputy Labour leader is vital to the stability of the party - but he is now convinced a Prime Minister can function effectively without a deputy.

He also believes scrapping the "bloated" department that has grown up around the position could slash millions of pounds of public spending.

The question of who might serve as Brown's right-hand man around the Cabinet table has been a potent issue at the top of the party since Blair assumed the leadership 12 years ago.

Before the last election, the then international development secretary Clare Short was reported to have indicated she was ready to run as Brown's deputy in a leadership contest when Blair decided to step aside.

Part of the arrangement was believed to have been a plan for her to assume the combined post of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary if Brown became Prime Minister.

More recently, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was believed to be forging an alliance with Brown in preparation for the post-Blair establishment. Again, the post of Brown's deputy was held up as the main prize. Brown already has a number of candidates for the position, including his close allies Alistair Darling, Scottish Secretary and Transport Secretary, and Des Browne, his number two at the Treasury.

But it was made clear last night that there would not be an automatic place at the Cabinet table for a deputy leader of the Labour party. The Whitehall team that has been preparing the "handover strategy" since Blair announced his intention to stand down before the next election has now been ordered to look at alternatives.

The Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker, who has repeatedly complained about the performance of Prescott's department, said it would not be missed. He said: "The only reason the ODPM [Office of the Deputy Prime Minister] was created was to find something for Prescott to do. In my view, the ODPM is the most chaotic, useless department in government. It is out of line with the rest of the government, but that is entirely in line with Prescott, who is the buffoon who leads it."

Prime ministers are not obliged to select a deputy when choosing their Cabinets, as the position does not have any legal basis.

Blair's decision to give Prescott the title after Labour came to power was a nod to party democracy, but he also gave Prescott the job of managing the huge new Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions.

This year it emerged that civil servants and local government officials had described the department as unfocused, lacking leadership and comparable to a "pantomime horse".

The scathing verdict on the ODPM was revealed in a leaked Mori opinion poll of government officials and stakeholders, which depicted a department that is poorly managed, "out-gunned" by other departments and suffering from "reorganisation fatigue".

The leaked analysis came as Prescott faced further claims that it was time for him to step down - and amid rumours that he was preparing to go after the next election.

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