Forget Blair on May 3rd, Welsh urged
Rhodri Morgan, leader of Labour in the Welsh assembly, has urged voters not to use May’s election as a protest vote against Tony Blair.
Voters must not head to the polls looking to “exact retribution” on the prime minister over the war in Iraq, Mr Morgan warned, or they will risk a Tory coalition come May 4th.
Speaking to BBC Wales, Mr Morgan made it clear he realised the extent of disillusionment with Labour across Wales and the rest of the UK.
However, he suggested that traditional Labour voters would be less put off by Mr Blair’s track record, but the “Guardian reading, chattering-classes” Labour voters could use the assembly election to protest against the prime minister.
Mr Morgan told the Morning Wales programme: “People have to be clear that they should not penalise Labour in Wales – when they like what we have done in terms of free prescriptions or bringing child poverty down and increasing jobs by 140,000 – because of the views that they might have.
“Because the time to extract any retribution for what they don’t like in terms of Iraq is at the next general election.”
The Welsh Labour leader hinted he could follow Mr Blair out of office and step down if Labour do badly in next month’s election. Mr Morgan had said he planned to retire in 2009, but now hinted he will step down if Labour perform badly at the polls.
“I will know if we have lost badly, and I will retire and leave the stage because that’s what all politicians – who have to accept the verdict of the electorate – do,” the 67-year-old politician said.
“If people want me out they can get me out by voting against Labour,” he continued. “If they want Labour to continue, then Labour voters have got to come out and vote Labour – that’s the key message.”
Despite warning voters of the risk of a Tory coalition, Mr Morgan insisted he did not fear the Conservatives and said voter apathy would be his biggest electoral liability.
With just four weeks left before Wales heads to the voting booths, Mr Morgan’s political rivals seized on his downbeat interpretation of the political scene.
Nick Bourne, leader of the Conservatives in the assembly, branded his comments an “astonishing admission from a party leader so close to an election.”
Mr Bourne added: “He knows the writing is on the wall and that we will be out of a job in 28 days’ time.”
Claiming most people expected Labour to perform badly in election 2007, Plaid Cymru’s deputy assembly leader, Rhodri Glyn Thomas, said “It seems that Rhodri Morgan is already acknowledging the inevitable.”
And Welsh Liberal Democrat assembly leader Mike German echoed: “Rhodri is acknowledging what we all know.
“He is a lame one-legged-duck first minister leading a shoddy administration that has run out of ideas.”
