Our Prime Minister lives to fight another day. We can leave the politics to Marbury - here I want to point out how Brown owes his survival to the convergence of two powerful social-psychological phenomena.
First, behaviorial norms. The meeting of Labour MPs at which Brown received his party's backing meant everyone was in one room and 'visible'. By packing it with supporters and making the most noise, the Brownies successfully created powerful social momentum for their man.
Second, loss aversion. The Euro election results were so bad that, paradoxically, it has made the party want to stick with what it knows. Labour MPs are now in a position analogous to that of voters following the economic crash, who were suddenly drawn to the PM. Once they knew the sky wasn't going to fall in, voters deserted him again. If and when Labour starts to rise in the polls as the economy recovers later this year, Brown might start to feel more confident. But according to my reading, this will be exactly when he needs to worry about his own MPs again.
