The newspapers are saying Blair is just about to start active campaigning for New Labour in the run up to the election.

I guess I am being dumb, but why do the Labour Party think continuing to associate themselves with Blair (given what the public know of him) is a positive, vote catching move?

It is certainly another reason I won't be voting for them.

He comes across better than Brown?

Because he's a better 'communicator' than Brown and that's all that really counts in our idiotic media.

Cunning plan:

The electorate will be reminded why they don't like Blair.
CallMeDave = Blair-lite.

Result: Ohmigod, we don't want any of that again. Let's vote Gordon back in.

Or not.

Well, its not looking like a good move if the comments made today by readers of assorted daily papers are anything to go by. If the Labour party office read some of the comments I think they will be in tears. I think 'backfired' might be a term they are using a lot tonight.

It'd be like Thatch campaiging for the Tories….

But if he wasn't involved the majority neo-con press and media would claim it was because he did not approve of Gordon's Labour. Damned if they do, damned if they don't IMO.

Blair hates Gordon so much he is going to lose him the election by campaining for him.

I'm with the OP. I think some people might have forgotten that Blair resigned as PM at a time when he was very deeply unpopular with the electorate. If he hadn't resigned, he would without a shadow of a doubt, have been ousted by the Party – who clearly saw him as a liability.

I still believe that he's a liability. So I'm mystified as to why he's suddenly appeared in the limelight – I can only assume that the self-promoting egocentric charlatan, has elbowed himself there.

And I don't buy that the only person known to have been slowed-clapped off the stage by the Womens Institute, was a 'great communicator'. I suspect any appeal he might have had, was based on him appearing like the nice guy next door – you never quite knew what he was on about, but he seemed like a genuine sort of guy.

Now people just see him as the self-serving cheating liar that he always was.

Labour sense a wobble among centre-ish voters who warmed to early period Cameron. They reckon they can hold those people, or enough of them, by contrasting Labour's record in office with the Cameron/Osbourne tendency to appear lightweight, shallow and ill-thought-out.

I wonder if they reckon that among this target group there is not all that much contempt for Blair particularly. They may feel that he was PM for ages, can talk very readily about things like "taking difficult decisions" and "the responsibility of government". I'm not convinced the Iraq war is a massive issue for a lot of these people. Blair can also say a lot of rather centre-ish things that would stick in Brown's throat.

They are 100% sure the Tory base will turn out, and they can probably bring theirs out even if Blair irritates it. But he stands some chance of peeling off a few people from the centre by making Cameron look inexperienced. Don't know, but I suspect that's the thinking. 😐

Can't see it doing Labour any good, and they must realise that, particularly Mandelson. It's almost as though neither party wants to win. Are things really that bad? 😯

BBC news tonight had a piece on what happens if there's a hung parliament; preparing the electorate perhaps?

The government in power, the majority of the time, is a reflection of the moral standing of the electorate.

The reason why we have morally corrupt politicians, is that people are either OK with the status quo, content to grumble dejectedly without the willpower to try to effect change or are too easily distr…ooh looky…

🙄

Labour sense a wobble among centre-ish voters who warmed to early period Cameron.

I'm surprised that you describe it merely as a "wobble" BD. I see it as a persistent and apparently relentless haemorrhaging of Tory support. Ten months ago the Tories had a 22% lead over Labour. Since then it has consistently whittled away, and last Thursday a YouGov poll gave the Tories just a 2% lead.

Bearing in mind that governing parties tend to claw back some support once election campaigns kick in properly, it now looks as if Labour might actually have a chance of winning in May – something quite unthinkable ten months ago. Whatever the reasons, it is clear that Labour's fortunes have changed dramatically in the last ten months. And all without any intervention from Tony Blair. So why the need to wheel him in now ? I would have thought leave well alone, rather than remind people of a politician who so comprehensively misled them – no ?

'Tis a fair point ernie. I'm not sure I'd want him on board personally.

Would you agree that the chances of him turning in a killer TV appearance that really makes a difference are greater than the odds of Brown or Darling achieving the same thing?

Politics right now is like being served two large platters full of dung and being asked which I want rubbed in my face for the next four years.

Having said that, I detest Cameron with much less vigour than I do Blair.

But that's like saying I'd rather break a foot than a whole leg.

I'm mystified as to why he's suddenly appeared in the limelight – I can only assume that the self-promoting egocentric charlatan, has elbowed himself there.

He's solved the Middle East's problems so he has a bit of time on his hands now.

I am baffled by his reappearance as well – Mind you I ma baffled that Brown has not tried to distance himself more.

As for the polls – what we have seen I believe is a dislike of Brown mainly and the labour party as a whole – not a liking for Cameron and the Tories -so as the election gets closer and people realise what is happening then they realise that they can't vote Tory after all. voting Tory 'cos you don't like Brown is not enough – Cameron needs people to want him as prime minister and not enough people do.

I also think that Cameron and Osbourne have made a few mistakes – such as that ghastly poster campaign and the flip flopping around over the economy

Blair hates Gordon so much he is going to lose him the election by campaining for him

+1 this. Anyone notice how when he was talking about one set of policies being what one party believed in, and one set of policies being what the other party believed would get them elected, he never said which set of policies belonged to which party. Surely if he was fighting McBroon's corner he would have tagged Labour/Conservative accordingly?

I think this is the worst election ever for the general, sensible voter. There's simply no good outcome. I think the best we can hope for is a Labour/LibDem coalition, as long as Vince Cable gets the Treasurer hat. On the downside, Brown will claim it as a victory and use it to dispel the talk of him being an unelected leader, etc., etc.
I may well just move to France if Labour win it outright.

The Guardianistas may not like him any more but there a whole wadge of middle aged working class that do
As it happens, I was at a pub in Blair's old constituency last night & the talk was of nothing else – they couldn't get enough of him
They were worried that Brown was going to 'lose it for them'

Anyone else weirded out by Blairs new 'American' accent?

Yes, I thought he was taking the p*ss initially.

Anyone else weirded out by Blairs new 'American' accent?

Is that what it was? I only heard a brief snippet and thought it was taking the piss of the locals.

Cameron needs people to want him as prime minister and not enough people do.

You could equally say that about Gordon Brown….we'll see !

If Labour win this country is screwed even more than it already is.

Come on Tony get campaigning!!!!

Is it my TV screen? or has Bliar overdone the fake tan?

Tango Tony ought to be in prison, not the campaign trail. He has jumped on the wagon-with his acolytes Campbell and Mandelson because they know that a Tory government will get its paws on lots and lots of 'classified' evidence-on Iraq, cash for honours, cash for passports, cash for tobacco advertising, cash for good ol' Tone.

Yah, right, like, I'm a pretty straight sorta guy y'know. C*NT.

As someone mentioned above, I too don't understand why Brown did not strike out and become his own man after Blair left. It seems a huge missed opportunity.

Instead we were flooded with newspapers claiming he was running constantly to Tone for advice, despite Blair being openly disliked by a significant proportion of the population. It was like looking at a repeat of the Blair grovelling to Bush event all over again. And now after all this time, Brown is still crawling to someone who has a very very poor reputation as a human being. How can he expect respect from any of the UK population when he chooses to look so utterly weak (and also so immoral as to choose Blair as his hero). Its so blatantly 'my keeping the job is more important than the good of the country'.

What does Blair do to people near him to keep them so weak – its like they are all having some kind of blinded love affair with him. Is it just that people are hugely drawn to his self confidence and ego, at whatever cost?

I can't make any intelligent comment on this cos i just get angry every time i think about that shifty excuse for a man. i voted for him once, that makes it even worse. i can't believe or trust any of them these days but he sinks to the very bottom of the cesspit of untrustworthiness.

tony – go and repent for what you've done and don't come back. your involvement in the iraq fiasco will not be forgotten.