By Debbie McGoldrick

Bob Geldof is one person who won’t be sorry to see British Prime Minister Tony Blair go. Not that he thinks Blair has done anything wrong, but Geldof is looking forward to the ascension of the PM’s heir apparent, Chancellor Gordon Brown.

Geldof and Brown were together on Monday at Newcastle University, accepting honorary degrees for their work on eradicating poverty and debt relief in Africa. The two acted like the old friends that they are, and Geldof says the U.K. will be in good hands when Brown is due to take over sometime this year.

“I am very comfortable sitting with Gordon Brown, very, very comfortable,” Geldof said. “I like him as a man, personally.

“Without question Brown and Blair completely altered the possibility of addressing (poverty.) If it wasn’t for Brown and Blair, I cannot imagine where we would have gone. They did force the world to change things, they really did.”

The British leaders, Geldof added, have a genuine interest in the Third World. “It is like they get all ‘studenty,’” he said. “You talk about the economy, you talk about roads, you talk about the war, there’s a kind of glazed look and out come politics speak.

“You talk about poverty and interest flicks and they talk about what they can do.”