Former PM says he would have done better than Gordon Brown at the 2010 general election
TONY BLAIR has said he would have given David Cameron "a run for his money" at the 2010 general election that resulted in a hung parliament. Commentators say the statement underlines the former PM's belief that he stood more chance of victory than his successor Gordon Brown, and suggests there is still "bitter rivalry" between New Labour's two most senior figures. In an interview with Bloomberg Markets magazine, 59-year-old Blair says: "Frankly, if I'd had a fourth election, I would have given Cameron a run for his money. I'm not saying I would have won, but it would have been tighter than it was." The Daily Telegraph's Iain Martin says Blair may well have got Labour over the line in 2010. For a start, he would have "triumphed" in the TV debates against Cameron and Nick Clegg. And many Labour voters would have preferred the "real thing" (ie: Blair) to a "Tory imitation" (ie: Cameron), says Martin. "Many people would have hated it but a big enough portion of the Labour vote would have rallied and relished the fightback," writes Martin. "It would easily have been enough to make Labour the largest party in a hung parliament. At which point, the morning after the election, Tony Blair, in his Number 10 den, lifts the phone: "Hi Nick, it's Tony here. Y'know, I used to say to Paddy (Ashdown) that what I really always wanted was to go into coalition with you guys." An online poll conducted by The Guardian today found 62 per cent of readers believed Blair stood more chance of winning in 2010 than Brown. Not everyone agrees. Writing in the New Statesman, George Eaton says he doubts if Blair could have won more than the 258 seats taken by Labour under Brown. Eaton says the former PM's decision to speak out now is "more significant" than the hypothetical question of whether he might have won. Writes Eaton: "Blair's comments will serve to encourage the belief that the best way to beat the Conservatives is by closing down space to Labour's right on the economy, public services and welfare". He suggests that would have involved the kind of measures Blair outlined in his memoirs A Journey when he wrote: "We should have taken a New Labour way out of the economic crisis: kept direct taxes competitive, had a gradual rise in VAT and other indirect taxes to close the deficit, and used the crisis to push further and faster on reform." Says Eaton: "The party's remaining Blairites, who believe that Ed Miliband has taken Labour too far to the Left, will be encouraged by their master's words." Source: The Week UK
