Collecting A Blue Peter Badge Or Leaving On A Hymn...

Original posting, September 2006

• COLLECTING a Blue Peter badge or leaving on a hymn and a prayer - literally - are an unorthodox way for a Prime Minister to bid his farewells. But Tony Blair has always been a master of surprises, often defying political gravity. The leaking of the Downing Street memorandum gives an extraordinary insight into the real machinations going on in the No 10 bunker.

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This is politics at its most raw. Publicly the PM is vague and dismissive of a likely departure date. Privately a highly detailed battle plan is in place that aims to catapult Mr Blair out of office and into elder statesmanship with as many bells and whistles as possible. The key aides masterminding the most drawn-out exit in British political history have thought of everything. Even a celestial choir, courtesy of Songs of Praise.

As they bunker down in the PM's study at the back of No10 over endless cups of milky tea, the level of detail that has been nailed down is breathtaking. Mr Blair will leave, as he arrived, on a 'brilliantly' orchestrated PR campaign. He will be spun from office. The loyalists - known as the "ultras" in Labour circles - began to formulate a plan soon after his historic victory at the polls in May last year. These diehards - Mr Blair's Brains Trust, the people who have delivered for him time and time again in the last nine years - have long feared the Brownite hordes gathering at the Whitehall gates. Informal get-togethers once a month gave way to more urgent discussions as it became clear the furore surrounding the PM's departure date just would not go away. The meetings have been late in the evening at No10 when only key staff remain or brainstorming weekends at Chequers when all concerned can be at their most candid.

The people Mr Blair trusts most - so much so that they can often contradict or shout down the PM in the most casual manner - have formulated an exacting blueprint. And with Blairites and Brownites among the rank and file now at daggers drawn, the PM is eager to rise above the fray and let both sets of supporters slug it out. But what both camps will be stunned to learn from the memo is that the main thing on the PM's mind is the PM himself.

One line reads:

"His genuine legacy is not the delivery,
important though that is,
but the dominance of New Labour ideas -
the triumph of Blairism."

Today's revelations of secret manoeuvrings over the manner and timing of his departure will inevitably intensify pressure to name that date. While Mr Blair scolds us for "obsessing" over his exit date, it is clear he is a lot more obsessed.

'Operation Stand Down' is an exhaustive and in parts exhausting process. Reading through the memorandum, the odds have shortened considerably on a likely exit around May's 10th anniversary. The countdown has started and the PM has only himself to blame. He created the current wave of speculation and playground yah-boo between supporters and opponents by announcing two years ago that he would be off at some point. And only Mr Blair can end the bickering by opening his diary and showing the month, if not the week or day (or second - DA), he has probably ringed.

Insults flying as Blairite fanatics Stephen Byers and Alan Milburn trade curses with champions of Chancellor Gordon Brown, led by his "brain" Ed Balls, are undermining public confidence and weakening the Labour party. Tory leader David Cameron is grinning from ear to ear, picking up votes as the electorate grows disillusioned with the squabbling. Education Secretary Alan Johnson, a good bet for Deputy to a Premier Brown, struggled to interest radio inquisitors yesterday in healthier school meals. Interviewers wanted to know what he thought about the PM's "not telling" mantra and if he was interested in the job. With the boss preparing to quit but keeping us all guessing, who can blame them? The line trotted out by No10, that it would be worse for Mr Blair if he told us, does not wash. It is hard to imagine how anything could be more destabilising than the present destructive uncertainty. Governments are about more than a single figure and Labour faces a stark choice. The party can be a monument to a soon to retire leader or a movement delivering prosperity, public services and security for hardworking families.

Iraq is - as the memo correctly notes - an "elephant in the room", a grotesque mistake that overshadows the Government's real achievements. Mr Blair can point to much delivered for the voters who put him into No10 three times. [What about the rest of us?]


Incomes are up and inflation down. The national minimum wage, tax credits and lifting one million children and pensioners out of poverty are concrete gains. Free TV licences for the oldest and £200 winter fuel payments for all pensioner homes did not come from the Tories. Then there are higher health and education spending, free nursery places and crime overall down. Labour has much to thank the PM for and the PM much to thank Labour for. A fresh-faced Mr Blair vowed on becoming Labour leader more than a decade ago never to repeat Maggie Thatcher's error and overstay his welcome. We now know the plan, Prime Minister. Just give us the date.

The PM's ULTRAS

DAVID HILL

WHEN Tony Blair exits No10, Hill won't be far behind. The PM has long relied on Hill's wise counsel and firefighting skills. And the political veteran is closely involved with the planning of his boss's long goodbye. Hill helped steer Blair to power in 1997. After a spell out in the PR world, he returned to the No10 powerhouse after Alastair Campbell's torrid exit over the Iraq dossier affair. He is married to Cherie Blair's spin doctor Hilary Coffman.


BENJAMIN WEGG-PROSSER

FRESH-faced Benjy was aide to Peter Mandelson when Labour came to power. The geeky Director of the No10 Strategic Communications Unit is a trusted member of the New Labour tribe. Last spring the PM called him "my gorgeous assistant". Like the rest of the inner circle Wegg-Prosser will leave No10 when Blair goes. Until then he will be working closely on the exit plan and drawing up the PR strategy to make sure all the right messages come across.


PHILIP GOULD

THIS supreme loyalist has been nurturing the Blair brand since the early 90s and has been at the PM's side for all three election victories. As Blair's private pollster and devil's advocate he picks groups of floating voters to pick up on the public mood. His legendary confidential reports are notoriously morbid about Labour's fortunes. Gould is one of the few ultra-loyalists urging the PM to broker peace talks with Gordon Brown.

MATTHEW TAYLOR

THE PM's Political Secretary has been in the job for less than 18 months, but is an influential figure. He is a key thinker creating the radical policy ideas Blair craves. Towering Taylor is a workaholic and cycling fanatic who burns the midnight oil in the No10 bunker. Insiders say he is "ballsy" and one of the few advisers who has irreverent conversations with the PM as Blair "worships him".

RUTH TURNER

LOW-profile Director of Government Relations was parachuted into No10 after the 2005 election. She gained her New Labour credentials setting up the Big Issue in the North of England where she quickly came to the attention of Blair's close allies Alan Milburn and Stephen Byers. Her job means she is a link between Blair and Labour MPs, party workers and the unions.


LIZ LLOYD

BLAIR'S longest-serving member of staff has been working as an adviser and researcher since the 90s. Her office is just a stone's throw from his and she is one of the few who regularly pops in and out of the Blair flat above 11 Downing Street. Liz was a contemporary of other Blairites at school in the Surrey stockbroker belt. The PM promoted her to Deputy Chief of Staff after his last election victory.


JOHN McTERNAN

FORMER Labour Party librarian has become part of the inner core. Dubbed "McFixer", he took over the key job of Director of Political Operations after the last election. His role means he will be heavily involved in plotting the final phase of the Blair premiership. He will help draw up the plans to brush up the PM's image with a series of speeches, lectures and dramatic public appearances.

JONATHAN POWELL

BLAIR'S chief of staff is one of the few senior figures who can walk unannounced into the PM's office. The urbane former diplomat fits the bill of close confidant and is heavily involved in choreographing the Prime Minister's long goodbye. He was once quoted describing Gordon Brown as a "Shakespearean tragedy" who would never be PM. Insiders claim he dislikes the Chancellor as much as Cherie Blair does.