Guardian: Forget the Blair-Brown battle. Labour now needs a mission, not a monarch

You are right in your assessment, but how would this discussion arise? There is no method or procedure to allow the public to enforce a debate. We must rely on the wishes of the leaders presented to us. So far it seems that radical overhaul is only promised when desperation for power creeps in, but fades once power seems absolute. For now Brown feels he can bide his time and power will come, but how can we trust this man when ideals are, as you say, "subordinated to his own career ambitions". Blair promised a lot, but to an extent allowed himself to be a blank canvas upon which we painted or hopes. Cameron is trying a similar tactic now, but it may be we are too aware of this tactic for it to succeed. Once in power the government, not just Blair and Brown, started to suffer from a delusion that is always prevalent in long runs of power, where there original desire to gain power to serve the people distorts to the point where they view the government as the people and so they must keep themselves in power "for the people".

I still think it likely that Brown will win the next election, but hopefully it will be close enough to send a shock to him, and a radical overhaul is promised by all sides, and the promise kept because due to a genuine fear of losing. Sadly I am in a pessimistic phase, and see no chance of the debate you call for arising, now or in even the next parliament.