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Key Figures in New Labor Government
By The Associated Press
Friday, May 2, 1997; 5:33 a.m. EDT
Key figures in Britain's new Labor government. (For more information, click here for their bios on the Labor Party's Web site):
TONY BLAIR, 43, has led the party since 1994. He has talked of a "radical" government but made few detailed promises about the policies of a Labor government.
GORDON BROWN, 46, almost certainly will be Chancellor of the Exchequer, responsible for economic policy. He faces difficult choices reconciling Labor's commitment to improving education and health care while operating within the Conservative government's overall spending target. Brown stayed out of the 1994 leadership election to give his friend Blair a clear run.
ROBIN COOK, 51, the likely foreign secretary. A tenacious, witty and formidable debater, Cook is probably Labor's best performer in the House of Commons. His rivalry with Brown, a fellow Scot, could be a problem for a Labor government.
JOHN PRESCOTT, 58, deputy leader of the party, contributed greatly to a unified and disciplined campaign by reassuring the old left. There is no obvious Cabinet slot for Prescott, though when Labor was an opposition party he concentrated on employment and transportation.
MARJORIE MOWLAM, 47, the party's spokeswoman on Northern Ireland, and likely to assume Cabinet responsibility. During the campaign she suggested that Sinn Fein could be invited to join all-party talks within weeks of a new IRA cease-fire.
© Copyright 1997 The Associated Press
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