BRITAIN:Chancellor Gordon Brown will be declared Britain's next prime minister without having to face a vote if he is the only candidate to succeed Tony Blair, the Labour Party said yesterday.
The announcement coincided with a double blow for Mr Brown as an opinion poll put him far behind the Conservative Party and a former colleague accused him of "Stalinist ruthlessness".
Party insiders expect Mr Blair to announce a day or two after the May 3rd elections for the Scottish parliament, Welsh assembly and English local councils that he is stepping down.
That would trigger simultaneous contests for the Labour leadership and deputy leadership. The decision not to hold an "affirmative ballot" if Mr Brown is the only leadership candidate saves him from potential embarrassment, given that some in Labour think he lacks the charisma to do the job.
Once the new leader has been chosen, Mr Blair will step down in late June or July, Labour parliamentarians believe.
An ICM poll for the Guardian showed that if Mr Brown faced the Conservatives' David Cameron and Menzies Campbell of the Liberal Democrats in an election, 43 per cent would back the Conservatives against 28 per cent for Labour.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Brown's former top civil servant, Lord Turnbull, said he had a "very cynical view of mankind and his colleagues".
Lord Turnbull, who worked with Mr Brown for four years before becoming civil service chief, said the chancellor would not allow his colleagues to discuss seriously any policy issues.
"You can choose whether you are impressed or depressed by that, but you cannot help admire the sheer Stalinist ruthlessness of it all," he added.