Hazel Takes the Reins

Hazel Blears knows exactly what she’s doing by intervening in print during the Labour Party’s darkest spring.

Think of it the other way around. Ministers know that when the Prime Minister pledges 100 per cent support then it’s curtains. It’s a sign of the declining authority of Number 10 that this rule has now been inverted. Cabinet loyalty is assumed. It should not have to be asserted.

Hazel Blears is stating the obvious, which is very dangerous indeed. Of course the government was on the wrong side of the gurkha debate, of course it is failing to communicate with the voters, of course the YouTube performance was a disaster. But Cabinet ministers are not supposed to say these things.

But senior Labour figures are now beginning to talk openly again about whether the present situation is sustainable (just as they did over last summer). The difference is that the Brown machine will not be able to stamp out dissent at conference as they did last year.