Tony Blair's removal vans leave Buckingham Palace
The moving process in the Commonwealth was swift and brutal. By Monday Howard had sworn the oath and taken up residence in Buckingham. As the giddy excitement passed Howard had to start making important appointments to his Buckingham staff. He decided to keep on Guy Black, who had been his personal Press Secretary since the 2002 Parliamentary elections. For his Chief of Staff he knew he wanted a younger rising star who could appeal to One-Nation Conservatives and help the Libertarian image he wanted to portray. He shortlisted three names, first was recently elected Oxford Mayor David Cameron. Whilst Cameron was certainly ambitious he had only just been elected Oxford’s Mayor and it would be a very bad look for him to immediately move to Buckingham, one to watch though. Another option would be Nicky Morgan, the chairwoman of East Midlands Conservatives and his Midlands campaign manager, she could help solidify the gains the party had made in the Midlands, promote strong links with regional parties, and it would represent a glass ceiling broken in the first days of Howard’s administration. Finally there was Hague’s former Director of Political Affairs and North West MP George Osborne, Osborne had experience working at a high level and was quickly making a name for himself in Parliament, but Howard decided Osborne would serve best in Parliament, the decision was made and Nicky Morgan was summoned to Buckingham.
Morgan declined a Presidential Car and instead walked to Buckingham upon being summoned
“I was incredibly surprised to get the call from Micheal, I guess he must have been impressed by the work I’d done in the Midlands, but yes it was an brilliant opportunity, one I couldn’t turn down.” - Nicky Morgan speaking to Parliamentary report on women in politics (2012)
Now was the issue of the Prime Minister. Getting a Conservative PM in the current Parliament would be difficult but Howard decided he would at least have to try. After appointing a “wet” as his Chief of Staff and working with the Lib Dems, Howard knew he had to throw the right a bone in order to keep the party onside. He had two names in mind: Liam Fox and David Davis. Davis had been his old rival in the primary, he could hardly be accused of tyranny if he replaced Brown with a political rival, Davis was also fairly popular and his military background could help him win re-election in 2005 if everything went to plan. Fox on the other hand was an arch-social Conservative, whilst he was popular with the party, the Lib Dems would never accept him, and the country probably wouldn’t. Davis was the obvious choice.
Howard announces Davis in a Buckingham Press Conference
Howard summoned Brown and informed him he would be requesting his resignation. Under the rules of the Commonwealth the President would then have to name his appointment, this appointment would then need to seek the approval of Parliament, against any other candidates that came forward in a ranked ballot. The incumbent could nominate himself, as could any other MP that could find 27 others to nominate them. Howard and Davis had two weeks to build a functioning majority and so cars were sent to pick up Nigel Farage and Menzies Campbell.
“Last Thursday the British people gave me a mandate, to clean up our hospitals, bring crime down and get more police on the street. However I do not believe Mr Brown is the right man to deliver on these promises. There is only one man who can meet these challenges with an Harvard brain and SAS determination. That man is David Davis” - Howard announces him nomination of David Davis (2004)
Farage was easy. UKIP didn’t demand cabinet posts or junior minister posts, instead they wanted a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU and soon. Farage wanted to build on the momentum of the Euro’s rejection and if Davis ran on that platform he’d have UKIP’s support. Campbell was more difficult, firstly a EU referendum was completely off the cards, secondly the Liberal Democrats wanted a full withdrawal of British troops from Iraq.
As the talks stalled the talks ticked along Gordon Brown had his own discussions with the Liberal Democrats, demands were the same on Iraq and Campbell wanted tution fees scrapped. These talks also stalled. Brown was confident the Liberal Democrats wouldn’t support a Davis led, UKIP backed Government. Brown called Campbells bluff and refused to make a deal. The two weeks wrapped up with no agreement between any of the parties. There were rumours of the anti-war left or one-nation Tories putting forward a PM candidate but this never materialised.
“Alan Simpson approached me quietly saying that some in the Socialist Caucus were looking at putting forward an anti-war candidate and would I be interested in nominating them? Whilst embarrassing the Government was a tempting prospect we didn’t want to be a stepping stone in yet another Livingstone esque vanity project.” - SNP Parliamentary Leader Roseanna Cunningham quoted in the Guardian article “Clinging on to Labour” (2004)
Brown won the first round of the PM election handily with the support of the SDLP, Davis came in second with votes from UKIP and the Unionist Parties. Campbell came last with the help of the Alliance Party. Campbell withdrew and announced that Liberal Democrat MPs would be abstaining on the final round. Campbell said he could not prop up a pro-war Labour administration nor an extreme right Conservative Government. However functionally he was allowing Brown to take the reigns, in the final round Brown won with a majority of over 100 votes.
“Thank you Mr Speaker. I am Honoured and humbled by the trust this house has given me for the third time. No one could have foreseen all the events that Britain has been through since 1999. But tested again and again the resilience of the British people has been powerful proof of the character of our country. We are entering uncharted waters of divided Government, but division doesn’t have to mean gridlock. Disagreement doesn’t have to mean conflict. We can work together, we must work together. For the sake of our values, our schools, our hospitals. For the sake of the British people” - Gordon Brown’s speech after being re-elected Prime Minister (2007)
Commonwealth of Britain Cabinet 2004-
President - Micheal Howard (Conservative)
Vice President - Micheal Ancram (Conservative)
Prime Minister - Gordon Brown (Labour)
Senate Leader - David Laws (Liberal Democrat)
Foreign Secretary - John Reid (Labour)
Chancellor - Andrew Smith (Labour)
Home Secretary - Margaret Beckett (Labour)
Justice Secretary - Stephen Byers (Labour)
Defence Secretary - Geoff Hoon (Labour)
Health Secretary - Estelle Morris (Labour)
Business Secretary - Tessa Jowell (Labour)
Board of Trade President - Helen Liddell (Labour)
Work and Pensions Secretary - Paul Murphy (Labour)
Education Secretary - Hilary Armstrong (Labour)
Environment Secretary - Peter Goldsmith (Labour)
Housing Secretary - Ruth Kelly (Labour)
Transport Secretary -Alan Johnson (Labour)
Northern Ireland Secretary - Hillary Benn (Labour)
Scotland Secretary - Douglas Alexander (Labour)
Wales Secretary - Peter Hain (Labour)
Digital Culture Media and Sport Secretary - Valerie Amos (Labour)
International Development Secretary - Charlie Falconer (Labour)
It was official, Brown was the Prime Minister and Howard the President, the Commonwealth’s first period of cohabitation began. Brown formed his new cabinet, defeated South East Premier Andrew Smith fell upwards, being made Chancellor. Blair loyalists such as Charlie Falconer found themselves demoted. With none of the major parties having a strong majority in anything the parties would have to barter and trade to get things done, or risk the young Commonwealth falling apart.
Tellers announce Gordon Brown's reelection as Prime Minister
“Gordon Brown successfully avoided the gridlock that crippled other periods of cohabitation”, discuss (30 Marks) - A Level History Exam (2019)