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Pall of gloom over Labour Party meet

LONDON: A sullen and demoralised Labour Party, torn by a power struggle and staring at defeat in the event of a general election “tomorrow,” gathered in Manchester on Saturday for its annual conference as a string of new opinion polls brought more bad news for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with a majority of voters as well as grassroots party activists declaring that he was well past his sell-by-date.

While Mr. Brown tried to pretend it was business as usual and nervous party managers desperately sought to make sure there were no hiccups during the four-day meeting, the overwhelming sense was it could well be his last conference as leader.

Rebel MPs, whose number was reported to be growing, made it clear that Mr. Brown was on probation and unless he raised his game over the next few months he would have to go. His speech on Tuesday, titled “Winning the Fight for Britain’s Future,” would be closely read for clues to how he plans to reach out to the disillusioned supporters, who are threatening to desert the party in droves at the next election, which is due in 2010. The only cheerful news amid the all-pervasive doom and gloom was a one-million pound donation to the Labour Party by Harry Potter series author, J. K. Rowling, a friend of Mr. Brown and his wife, Sarah. The donation came as the party struggled to raise funds.

Ms. Rowling said she was impressed by Labour Party’s efforts to combat poverty, especially among children. “I believe that poor and vulnerable families will fare much better under the Labour Party than they would under a Cameron-led Conservative Party. Gordon Brown has consistently prioritised and introduced measures that will save as many children as possible from a life lacking in opportunity or choice,” she said.

Mr. Brown said he was delighted that the Labour had the support of “one of the world’s greatest ever authors.”

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