Crisis talks over immigration

The idea of Blair getting into a blind panic doesn’t surprise me at all. Once, long ago, a friend detailed to me a conversation his father had had with Lord Falconer about a phone conversation he’d with Blair a few days after the 97 election victory. In it Blair was in blind panic on the phone imploring Falconer (desperately I might add) to help him because he didn’t have a clue how to run a government. Apparently he was so obsessed with winning that he never thought through what would happen once in power.

Of course, if true, this would explain some of the stories about how Labour still had a campaign/opposition party mindset for the first few years of running the Government.

From what I’ve heard (from people who’ve worked with him or known him via others) and what I’ve read (in particular a book about Alistair Campbell) Blair really doesn’t know his own mind, he is not as strong as he is made out and a lot of “his” views are essentially made up by others.

“Tony Blair has been in crisis talks with Labour strategists amid signs that voters' worries about immigration could derail his election campaign. The Prime Minister has been told that the public is simply not listening to his message on the issue and that tough Tory policies are striking a chord.

In a further sign of disarray, Mr Blair is said by senior government sources to have been forced to bring back Gordon Brown to help the election campaign because he was in “absolute panic" about the state of Labour's performance.” Link