Blairites don’t want Tony to take all the blame this Thursday, says our Downing Street insider
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Unity has broken out - at last - in the Labour Party, ahead of Black Thursday.
Blairite cabinet ministers are calling for a 'united' Labour front and hinting heavily that Gordon Brown can finally expect the endorsement of Tony Blair. John Reid talked yesterday of a "coming together of all in the Labour leadership".
But the motive is less to do with advancing Brown's leadership prospects and more to do with propping up Blair's fast disappearing credibility by taking collective responsibility for Labour's poll showing, expected to be dismal. Calls for unity are really code for 'don't put all the blame on Tony'.
The Scottish and local election results are likely to be the worst Labour has suffered since Michael Foot was leader in 1983. Blair's supporters fear that much of the blame will |
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be laid at the PM's door - especially by Brownites. They know that the electorate's love affair with Blair is over and that this will be the voters' verdict on his 10-year premiership.
Many of the PM's apologists have been here before - when they worked for Neil Kinnock before the 1992 election. Back then no one had the courage to tell Kinnock that he was an electoral liability. The same people haven't felt able to tell Blair that he is the problem and that he should have gone earlier.
The calls for unity are also a signal to Charles Clarke not to rock the boat by challenging Brown for the leadership. Diehard Blairites don't want to be blamed for causing a division that could lead to a Labour general election defeat - which could rebound on a future challenge by David Miliband.
It's all a long way from last September's Downing Street leaked memo on Blair's exit with its call that "he needs to go with the crowds wanting more. He should be the star who won't even play that last encore." 
FIRST POSTED APRIL 30, 2007
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