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Article: Blair's power politics: Tony Blair's grip on the Labour Party depends as much on new party rules as on the power of his ideas.
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- October 3, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BLACKPOOL
Tony Blair's grip on the Labour Party depends as much on new party rules as on the power of his ideas.
EVEN his critics conceded it was a bravura performance. Tony Blair, prime minister and Labour Party leader, deservedly won a standing ovation for a speech to his Blackpool party conference that was tough, politically astute and, unusually, contained verbs (see Bagehot). But is Mr Blair really winning the battle for the hearts and minds of his party? Or is he simply marginalising his opponents, through insidious changes to the party machinery?
Most of the headlines at the beginning of the conference were grabbed by the election of ...