Party political punch-ups

Both Tony Blair and IDS have battled cynical media coverage of the party conferences this week, struggling to retain focus on policy in the face of infighting and leadership controversy. Despite Tory hopes for an inspirational speech from their party frontman, Duncan Smith gave only a lacklustre performance, assuring voters that he would win the next election, but hardly appearing convinced himself; critics commented snidely that he had at last succeeded in unifying the party, but only in opposition to his leadership. Before IDS had even taken the stage, most attention was paid to speculation about possible candidates to succeed him, with former chancellor Kenneth Clarke casting the most threatening shadow over his pledge to remain in control. While warding off scepticism about his political competence, IDS threatened to sue the BBC should it broadcast allegations concerning the dubious payment of a secretary’s salary to his wife out of party finances, but he failed to prevent the rumours from clouding his conference agenda. The Independent even declared IDS’ leadership in crisis after its survey this week revealed that most people see the Liberals as Labour’s most serious opposition. According to electoral polls, the Tories remain in second place by five points, defying forecasts that they would advance on Labour following a recent slump in Blair’s popularity. The Prime Minister’s credibility was most dented in the past week by Channel 4’s drama, The Deal, which portrayed him as a wellspun actor on a ruthless quest for self-advancement. The programme purported to represent his rise to power, focussing on the friction between Blair and Brown, especially during the infamous Granita agreement supposedly promising the Chancellor leadership of the government halfway through his second term as Prime Minister. However, Blair managed to smooth over accusations of spin and deceit with a concerted campaign to promote Labour’s renewed efforts at transparency; his speech again proved his mastery of sincere performance, reasserting his authority as the party vote-winner and locking Brown back up in his little red box.ARCHIVE: 0th Week MT2003