by Chris McLaughlin
GORDON BROWN has been urged to move swiftly to consolidate his authority by reaching out to unions and party members engaged in the policy making process following the “watershed” vote on 42 days’ detention for terrorist suspects.
But with the measure facing potential legal challenges and the possibility of rejection by the Lords, the issue has damaged Mr Brown’s standing among colleagues, including rebel MPs who were persuaded to back him at the last minute.
The 315 to 309 vote in favour of the “reserve power” to hold suspects for up to 42 days without charge came after an extraordinarily intense personal lobbying operation by Mr Brown.
He effectively made the vote a confidence issue by vesting his authority as Prime Minister in the outcome. Rebels who were persuaded late in the day to back it did so only after wringing so many concessions from Mr Brown and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that they were convinced the measure could never be used.
“There are now so many hurdles to jump through that, for all practical purposes, the legislation will be meaningless”, said one MP.
The vote saved Mr Brown from what many MPs believed was to be a certain onslaught by Blairite former ministers if it Mr Brown appeared to be “irredeemably damaged” by a defeat.
There is speculation at Westminster that a leadership campaign war-chest of pledges up to £1 million has been secured by former senior ministers who would back a challenge by Work and pensions Secretary James Purnell.
In the feverish activity in the hours before the vote a range of “sweeteners” were reported to have been offered to potential rebels to secure their support. MPs were reported to have claimed that promises were made on issues ranging from compensation for miners and sanctions against Cuba. Glasgow Central MP Mohammad Sarwar was given an assurance during the debate that wrongly imprisoned suspects would receive compensation.
After the vote on Wednesday, Mr Brown hosted a reception at Number 10 for members of the Labour Party National Executive Committee and the National Policy Forum where he was pressed by some members to effect a change in Government direction to embrace policies on council housing and fairer taxes.
The event took place before yesterday’s (June 12) meeting of the executive which was expected to appoint Unite assistant general secretary Ray Collins as the party’s new general secretary.
The appointment faced a last minute challenge from three other applicants who failed to make the shortlist of one and who called for a suspension of the process pending an investigation into the recruitment methods employed.
