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Labour must not make it worse

Polly Toynbee

Baying for the Prime Minister's blood over Wednesday night's House of Commons defeat plays into the Opposition's hands.

MANY WILL be celebrating Wednesday night's mighty defeat for Tony Blair — an unholy alliance of Labour's natural enemies and those within Labour who brought it about.

A frenzy of excitement is seizing Westminster, led by the television commentators' gleeful over-exuberance straight after the vote. The words of those with the microphones rushed out, gasping hysterically at the "scale of the defeat" — "devastating," "never before," "that sense of power seeping away," "on the brink of some extraordinary changes," and much more.

This was a well-predicted lost vote, which Mr. Blair himself pushed through against much advice. It was he who put the power of his own personal force of persuasion to the ultimate test in a reckless, needless plunge. Why? The evidence was never there, the police case never quite convincing. The hapless Charles Clarke was sent naked into the chamber, repeating over and over again that the reason why was compelling, yet he stood empty-handed with no compelling evidence to offer.

Maybe a case will arise where innocent lives could have been saved if only a terrorist were held for 90 and not 28 days. But most MPs doubted it, even those many Labour MPs who voted loyally between gritted teeth. Were those 62 days really worth the Prime Minister dying in the ditch for?

But stop here and pause to reflect. Those on the Centre-Left who wish at all costs to keep Labour in office and to keep the Tories at bay should take a deep breath before wishing that power tumbles away from Mr. Blair and his Government in a helter-skelter panic of Westminster hysteria.

Aggressive Tory press

In the last weeks, most of the Tory press have grown increasingly aggressive, heartened by the possibility that their own party might resurrect itself from the dead. With the curious exception of the Sun newspaper — used by Rupert Murdoch to play his unpleasant cat-and-mouse games with Mr. Blair — the strident anti-Labour noise has been growing into a near universal howl. Since Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett fell, the wolves have scented the real red meat of the Labour leader himself.

At the same time, many inside Labour have been reaching the end of their patience with the bluster of new policies pouring out of No 10 Downing Street without consultation or party support. Deep disquiet about plans for health, education and benefits touch the core of the party more deeply than civil rights issues, suggesting worse trouble ahead. So there has been a dangerous coming together of Right and Left against the Government. I am aware that I too, alarmed at the sheer lack of evidence or care for detail, have recently joined the chorus of protest against the way Mr. Blair is rushing forward his programme with scant regard for the real-world effects of his ideas. But when those who essentially support the good this Government has done find they are part of a Tory-lead groundswell of attack, it is time for caution.

Those who have filed in to see Mr. Blair in recent days are reminded that the man is not a swivel-eyed megalomaniac, nor is he a Tory. But after 11 years, any leader loses touch. The present ferment may be largely Mr. Blair's fault, but because he has acted recklessly it does not mean Labour should do likewise.

It has been his own choice not to consult his party and his own choice not to consult Gordon Brown, although it was the Brown/Blair double act that rescued a disastrous election campaign at the last minute. It is Mr. Brown who will almost certainly be left to deal with any adverse or perverse consequences of these new policies — and yet no sooner was the election won than he was deliberately exiled from No 10 decision-making.

Yet despite all that, Labour MPs know they need a smooth transition of power. This requires enormous forbearance and discipline from those who think Mr. Blair should go sooner rather than later. Now is not the time to bay for his blood, to join the Tory press pack and do their work for them. The problem is that if Mr. Blair is determined to outstay his reputation and prolong his going, he will be the cause of a bad handover.

Power can fall away not just from a leader, but from a party — see how attacks on Mr. Brown are starting in earnest in the Tory press, day after day predicting economic doom, inventing preposterous stories about new taxes on the views from windows, and the like. Mr. Blair may be in danger of dropping it, for which he will not be forgiven, but his party must be careful not to add to that danger.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

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