Politics gets personal but Blair remains resilient

Japan Policy & Politics, May 2, 2005

LONDON, April 26 Kyodo

British Prime Minister Tony Blair received a further knock-back Tuesday as a former Labour member of parliament urged voters to give the leader a ''bloody nose'' at the election as he announced his defection to the Liberal Democrat Party.

Brian Sedgemore, former Labour MP in London who stood down at the announcement of the general election, appeared alongside Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy at the party's regular morning press briefing confirming his decision to quit Labour after serving 27 years as an MP and a total of 37 years as a member.

Launching a personal attack on Blair and his stance on the Iraq war, the defector said, ''I urge everyone from the center and left in British politics to give Blair a bloody nose at the election and to vote for the Liberal Democrats in recognition of the fact that the tawdry New Labour project is dead.''

Amid speculation that the Liberal Democrats are now the true party of the left, 68-year-old Sedgemore called on the electorate to follow his example on May 5 and ''work for a nobler vision of Britain.''

The defection was warmly welcomed by Kennedy who -- promoting the Liberal Democrats as the party of choice for May 5 -- said, ''Brian Sedgemore' s message for other people who are considering voting Labour but who are unhappy with the party's policies on Iraq, tuition fees and civil liberties is clear.''

Kennedy added that it was a ''pivotal moment'' in the election campaign; however Blair was quick to shrug off the highly publicized move, stating dismissively, ''What he does is up to him. He's not even a candidate at the election.''

Speaking at a press conference at a south London school where he was emphasizing Labour's commitment to improving education, the prime minister was determined to keep things on track, arguing that he was adamant that ''the fate of one individual and his political preference'' should not detract from Labour's overall campaign.

However, despite Blair's wishes to maintain the focus on the more domestic policies of education, the economy and healthcare, opposition politicians are refusing to keep the issue of Iraq under wraps.

Following Sedgemore's rebellion, Michael Howard, leader of the Conservative Party, said that he stood by his description of Blair as a liar, citing three examples of discrepancies in the prime minister's intelligence on the reasons to go to war with Iraq.

Regardless of the two prominent and personal attacks on Blair, his Labour Party remains firmly ahead in the most recent polls with the Conservatives trailing by as many as 10 points in an opinion poll conducted for The Independent newspaper.

In a television interview on Monday night, Howard -- by his own admission -- used a football analogy to describe his party as being ''two goals down at half-time in the election battle,'' but remained convinced that he could go on to ''win the game.''

Whether a declaration of defeat or a ploy to win votes by suggesting Labour is heading for another landslide, Howard is trying hard to keep the battle personal and keep the heat on Blair, goading him by saying, ''This election is about character, it's about your character and the way you do business.''

A veteran to criticism, Blair's resilience shone through. When pressed further over Sedgemore's defection he said, ''Ever since I became leader of the Labour Party, people have attacked me for various reasons.''

Amid pleas by one British journalist at the Labour press conference to liven up a ''mind-numbingly boring election,'' Blair is perhaps more concerned by voter apathy than opposition parties or defecting retired MPs.

In a final stab at the Labour Party, Sedgemore added, ''Only one thing can be said with certainty about the results of this general election; the number of abstentions will be colossal and who could blame the electorate?''

With Labour's tag-line changing from ''Forward Not Back'' to ''If you value it, vote for it!'' and with just nine days remaining until Election Day, Blair's main focus will inevitably now be to get the electorate motivated enough to put their marks on their ballot papers on May 5.