Blair praised but party looks to Brown
Tony Blair’s speech was met with rapturous applause on the floor of the Labour conference today but members are already looking towards his successor.
The prime minister looked back on the achievements of eight years in power, but also looked ahead to a party that could “step up to a new mark a changing world is setting for us”.
The vision he laid out was one of long term plans and indicated that he has no intention of stepping down soon – as one delegate put it: “He’s clearly not someone who is standing down tomorrow.”
However, his comments did parallel the idea of “New Labour renewed” set out by Gordon Brown yesterday, and it was this continuity that appeared to inspire delegates in Brighton.
Abdeslam Amram, a councillor for Lewisham West, said he was “energised” by Mr Blair’s speech as it reaffirmed the party’s sense of identity: “We all know where we are,” he said.
But he admitted this energy came more from the sense of momentum in the party as a whole than from Mr Blair’s speech.
This sense of confidence in the party itself was echoed by another councillor, Kate Anoulue of Edmonton, who told politics.co.uk: “Whatever time he decides, it is going to go very smoothly.
“The most important thing is that we have a leader in waiting. Our future is all planned. I have 100 per cent confidence in a fourth or even a fifth term.”
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock noted that Tony Blair had proven he was “in control of the timetable” about when he would step down.
But the unions insisted that if this was the case, he should make the decision sooner or later to ensure his successor had the time to prepare for a general election.
Tony Woodley, general secretary of the T&G union, told politics.co.uk that Mr Blair had made history in winning a third term, but insisted that the best time to step down was when someone was at the top of their game.
“All he said about the fact that the world is shrinking, that we need to change to adapt, to keep ahead of the game – it is obviously clear that we need a new leader to pick up the baton and deliver it,” he said.
Even Mark Serwotka, the hard line general secretary of the PCS union, admitted Mr Blair’s speech had been a “polished performance” but insisted he would wait to see how the policies played out in reality.
“The change between the rhetoric and the reality is getting bigger by the day,” he told politics.co.uk. “I welcome the vision but the devil is in the detail.”
For a list of Opinion Former fringe events at the Labour conference click here.
