Waiting for Gordon

Leicester

To the small knot of protesters outside the Peepul Centre, a new multimedia, multicultural performance space in Leicester, Tony Blair is already history. Chanting "Bush, Brown, CIA/How many kids did you kill today?" and waving signs describing Blair's anointed successor as Gordon Brown, War Criminal, they, at least, have moved seamlessly into the new era.

The crowd inside seems less certain. A kaleidoscope of Hindus from Gujarat, Muslims from Bengal, Kashmir and Pakistan, Jains and Sikhs, the women in saris, shalwar kameez and cropped jeans, the men in dhotis, Nehru jackets and well-cut suits, they clap politely as the Emmanuel Gospel Choir sings "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." By the next census Leicester is expected to be the first British city with a nonwhite majority: The Diwali celebrations here are the largest outside India; Leicester's Caribbean Carnival is the biggest in Britain after Notting Hill. An appropriate setting, then, for Labour's first black, Asian and minority ethnic leadership debate. But with Brown now running unopposed for party leader, there won't be much of a debate. The choir swings into "Oh Happy Day," then stops abruptly. Apparently it's too soon to celebrate. The Chancellor of the Exchequer hasn't yet arrived. Like the rest of Britain, we are all waiting for Gordon Brown.

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