Bye Tony, Hello Gordon

In all the fuss about Matt Lauer asking England's Princes William and Harry about their favorite shoes, everyone seems to have forgotten that there's actually some real news about America's closest ally. This coming Wednesday, Tony Blair stands down as prime minister, and his successor, Gordon Brown, takes the reigns of power.

Gordo (as he is less-than-pleasantly known) was elected leader of the Labour Party, and therefore prime minister-elect, at a special party conference held in Manchester yesterday. The symbolism of the location, in the traditional Labour heartland of the industrial North of England, couldn't be clearer. The Blair era, which was often seen as pandering to Southern middle-class voters, is over.

Since 1997, the taciturn Scot has been Blair's chancellor of the exchequer, the nation's treasurer, and the second most powerful person in government. He's also been his literal neighbor, since the PM lives at No. 10 Downing Street and the chancellor at No. 11. So when Blair moves out, Brown will just have to shuffle his stuff through the side door.

It's been an uneasy partnership: Blair was aways seen as too presidential (not a good thing in British parliamentary politics), too much of a friend to deregulation, and far, far, far too committed to the Bush administration. Brown, on the other hand, is more traditional Labour, keen on protecting public institutions like the National Health Service, which has been underfunded under Blair. He's also said that relations with the U.S. will be "solid but not slavish" – a pointed attack on the widely loathed Bush-Blair synergy. A large number of Blair acolytes will probably be looking for a new job come Thursday: His deputy prime minister, John Prescott; home secretary, John Reid; cabinet office minister, Hillary Armstrong; and attorney general, Lord Peter Goldsmith have already announced they're quitting, and others will probably be out in favor of Brown's closest advisers.

Brown also couldn't be stylistically more removed than the glad-handing, media-savvy Blair. Some see him as socially awkward to an almost Rovian extent; others have respected his quiet manner and his refusal to use personal tragedy (like the death of his prematurely born first daughter or the diagnosis of his third child with cystic fibrosis) for political ends.

All in all, the days of a joint Iraqi policy and laissez-faire economics may be over in the UK. Plus Bush best be careful about yelling "Yo, Brown!" in public.