Hardly breaking news at this point, but I ask we take a moment to recognize the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a great man who will, I trust, be a hero to us. He has an excellent record in government delivering a dynamic and surprisingly equitable economy (certainly by comparison to the US), and though I am not in agreement with all of his accomplishments as Chancellor, I am nonetheless pleased to have someone I trust succeed the higher office. We know that on the core issues of government to serve the people, and particularly the least well off, Brown's convictions are in the right place since his days as a student leader in Edinburgh right through to work on behalf of African development.
I also ask that we recognize Tony Blair. I know that he made a serious error in supporting this egregious war, and that he has not always been truthful or submitted to the proper restraints in his pursuit of political success, but keep in mind that a figure in power for over ten years is bound to leave with controversy. In Blair's case, it is only remarkable that in other spheres besides the war in Iraq, his record is uncontroversially great, and we ought at least to see that. This man served the Labour Party and his country well on the whole.