LONDON - Finance minister Gordon Brown was set to be effectively crowned as Britain’s next prime minister on Thursday, after his sole rival to succeed Tony Blair conceded defeat. Brown’s left-wing challenger John McDonnell admitted late Wednesday that he could not rally the 45 lawmakers’ signatures required to be nominated as a candidate in the internal contest for the leadership of the Labour Party. That means that Brown, 56, is set to be officially named Labour’s leader on June 24 and prime minister on June 27, the departure dates Blair announced last week after 10 years in power.Critics lament that the lack of a leadership contest will lead to the “coronation” of Brown as prime minister, without either a general election or a vote within his own party. Under Britain’s electoral rules the prime minister is the leader of the biggest party in parliament.
“It is a great shame that Labour Party members will now not be allowed a vote on the leader of their party or the party’s future direction,” said McDonnell, while congratulating Brown and wishing him success. The latest update on Labour’s website showed that Brown had the backing of 307 Labour MPs.