History in the making

Almost 17 years ago I found myself in London during an unexpected transition of power. On November 22, 1990, the airwaves were filled with news that Margaret Thatcher had been ousted as Prime Minister in a cabinet coup. After almost 11 years as the nation’s leader the public and her party had grown weary of her confrontational style.

Today we’ve witnessed another long standing Prime Minister leave office. Tony Blair resigned shortly after lunch having served more than ten years in Downing Street. The contrast between his exit and that of Margaret Thatcher couldn’t have been more stark. The evening paper described today’s events as "the most carefully choreographed political resignation in history." Tony Blair’s departure has certainly been a while in coming. He announced as early as May last year that 2007 would be his final year. A most fitting end for a man long considered the master of spin.

Gordon Brown, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer was sworn in as Britain’s 52nd Prime Minister shortly before 3:00pm. He is a Scotsman from Kirkcaldy, a small town south of Edinburgh. The nation’s last Scottish Prime Minister was Alec Douglas-Home, who served from 1963-1964. Gordon Brown is the eighth Scottish, and ninth non-English man to hold this office.

Our weather has also been making history this week. We’ve had rain falling in volumes never witnessed before. Weather stations have been recording their highest ever rainfall for June. On Monday, 103.6mm (4.1in) fell in 24 hours near Kingston upon Hull, while 242.8 mm (9.56in) fell in eight hours at Bruton in Somerset. Severe flooding has subquently made headlines all week, and the tennis is suffering at Wimbledon.

London was certainly wet this week, but nothing like the conditions further north. It seems we should have seen this coming. Apparently, most of the nation's new Prime Ministers find their day of triumph given over to less than pleasant weather. I wonder if this weekend's forecast is also a sign? We’re being warned to expect falls of up to 50mm in parts of the country. I guess we should be thankful for small mercies. Apparently it rained continuously for 58.5 hours in London in June 1903.