The untimely death of John Smith, leader of the Labour Party, in May 1994 sparked a furious behind-the-scenes struggle for the leadership of the party. Until Smith’s death it had been thought that in the event of such a crisis, Tony Blair would step aside for his more experienced friend Gordon Brown, rather than split the vote. Within hours of Smith’s death, however, at his wife’s urging Blair was considering running for the position. It has been widely rumoured that Brown finally agreed to step aside during a dinner with Blair at the Granita restaurant in London on 31 May. The truth, according to his biographer Paul Routledge, is that this decision was announced instead at a meal the night before, dubbed the Last Supper, held by Brown for his closest friends and advisors. According to Brown’s brother John, the deciding factor for this momentous move was the publication of the following poll in the Scotsman: ‘Gordon said to me that was the finish.’
Gordon Brown, the shadow chancellor, cannot count on the automatic endorsement of Scottish Labour MPs in his struggle to become the next Labour leader. Scots MPs are split between Mr Brown and Tony Blair, the shadow Home Secretary, in the battle for the leadership according to a poll conducted by the Scotsman. The failure of Mr Brown to secure an overwhelming majority in his Scottish heartland will heighten the dilemma over which of the two close friends should stand.
In a survey of 42 of Scotland’s 48 Labour MPs, 15 were firmly in favour of Mr Brown becoming the next Labour leader. Six supported Mr Blair outright, but crucially, six others said that though they felt an obligation of loyalty to vote for Mr Brown, they hoped he would stand aside so that they could back Mr Blair. Several said they would be pressing Mr Brown not to stand because they believed Mr Blair is more likely to win the next election for Labour. One, who has been agonizing over the decision, said: ‘My heart is with Gordon but my head is with Blair.’
Five MPs supported John Prescott, the employment spokesman, three backed Robin Cook, the trade and industry spokesman, one was for Margaret Beckett, the acting leader, and six would not reveal their thinking…. All but a handful of the MPs contacted by the Scotsman wanted to remain anonymous but there was a high level of anguish about how they would vote.
Much of Mr Brown’s support came from traditional left-wingers. But other left-wingers such as George Galloway (Hillhead) and John McAllion (Dundee East) backed Mr Prescott. Tommy Graham, the MP for Renfrew West, who is supporting Mr Brown, said: ‘He is in the best tradition of socialism that comes out of Scotland … there is no doubt the trust the nation placed in John Smith would be safe in the hands of Gordon Brown.’
Mr Blair is also being helped by anti-Scottish sentiment among some English MPs. As one put it: ‘We have had a Welsh leader, a Scottish leader, let’s try an English one’. Another said it was time to ‘ditch the Scottish mafia’.