I am ready to replace Brown if asked declares Jack Straw

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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JACK STRAW sparked fresh speculation about the Labour leadership today when he declared he was ready to become Prime Minister.

The Justice Secretary said that while he is not jockeying to succeed Gordon Brown he admitted he would be willing to take over if colleagues asked.

"If someone came and said 'sign on the dotted line', yes, I'd sign," he said.

In a frank interview, Mr Straw also revealed publicly for the first time that he felt Tony Blair had sacked him as Foreign Secretary because he objected to US policy on Iran and the Middle East.

Mr Straw also said that the Government had got it wrong on plans to detain terror suspects for 42 days without charge.

The Cabinet minister emerged in a poll last week as the public's surprise choice to replace Mr Brown, and colleagues are sure to see his interview as a clear bid to position himself for any coming race to succeed Mr Brown.

Mr Straw referred to an article in the Economist back in 1999 which stated: "This guy hasn't dropped a catch. He could be Prime Minister one day."

However, he stressed that he did not "yearn" to be premier.

"I have seen what it takes to do it, after working closely with Tony and with Gordon, and I know what it is to work at the Foreign Secretary level and the pressures therein. I can honestly say I have no ambitions in that area," he told the Daily Mail.

Mr Straw dismissed claims that at 62 he is too old for the top job, saying he feels "somewhere between 80 and 35 depending on what's happening that day".

Mr Straw said he regularly exercises in the Commons gym, including a "Body Blast" routine of aerobics with weights.

"I'm obsessed with exercise. It helps me think," he said.

He revealed he had been "irritated" when Mr Blair sacked him from the Foreign Office after the 2005 general election.

"Clearly there were forces in the US system that disagreed with my views on the Middle East, and there were differences with Tony Blair's Middle East policy too."

He said he decided not to quit, "but yes there was a sense of unfinished business, of course".

In his first public criticism of Mr Brown's stance on anti-terror measures, the Justice Secretary also signalled to Labour activists that he is wary of abandoning civil liberties.

"There are areas of difficulty for us dealing with terrorism, post 9/11 and I don't say every time we have got it correct. I don't think we got 42 days' detention right, and some other things. But on the whole I think we have the balance right," he said.

Labour's dire opinion poll ratings have prompted a fresh round of speculation about Mr Brown's successor, with deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman, Alan Johnson, Ed Balls and others all accused of positioning themselves.

Cabinet ministers were this week accused of rebelling over plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail.

The Prime Minister faces an ambush over the issue by Labour MPs and trade union leaders at the party's policy forum tomorrow.

[brothermagrew]

The Prime Minister faces an ambush over the issue by Labour MPs and trade union leaders at the party's policy forum tomorrow.

Unless he takes a sickie!

[Yahoorsur]

I am ready to replace Brown if asked declares Jack Straw

A poisoned chalice Jack,ever heard the phrase 'rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic'?

[Big Daz]

The most important thing for Labour after losing next year will be a full and frank debate and a proper leadership contest.

It needs to decide where it wants to be on the political spectrum and once and if in government again those at the top will have to follow the party line instead of going off doing there own thing.

they also need to restore some democracy to the internal workings of the party as there is some unhappiness in that area as new labour dont allow any dissent from the new labour dream to have much chance of becoming policy.

[k979aaa]

I am ready to replace Brown if asked declares Jack Straw

A poisoned chalice Jack,ever heard the phrase 'rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic'?

Has jack straw put his name against the bill for the privatization of royalmail in one word NO!. The man of straw has no moral fiber and just blows whichever way the wind takes him another champagne socialist just like gordy and mandy and tony!.