When Brown’s troubles really started

Ben Brogan goes through all the hoops and then back again, as he discusses whether Brown will stay to fight the election.  I take issue with this:

….he [Brown] is also a politician who has made a career of tactical retreats and the avoidance of unwinnable contests. His critics say the greatest example was his failure to stand for the Labour leadership in 1994….

Brogan forgets that Brown could and should have stood against John Smith in 1992 following Kinnock’s resignation.  He was encouraged to do so by Blair, and to a lesser extent by Mandy, but backed off.  That directly lead to Blair taking the initiative when John Smith died in 1994.  The subsequent three times election winner concluded that Brown had his chance and failed to take it.

It could be argued that the doubts Blair and Mandy had over Brown started in 1992, rather than the more common assumption that it was in 1994 when the so called ‘Granita’ deal was done.

The seeds of Brown’s present troubles were possibly sown back in 1992 when he failed to act decisively.  A characteristic that has repeated itself ever since.