Blair appeals to Labour to hold nerve after elections roasting

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair last night appealed to Labour to hold its nerve after the party’s hammering in the local council elections.

Labour crashed to third place behind the Liberal Democrats in the popular vote in what it believed to be the worst performance by a governing party in a mid-term poll.

A jubilant Conservative leader Michael Howard said the results had given the Tories a platform to go on and take power in the next general election.

However, Labour claimed that the Conservatives had failed to make a decisive electoral breakthrough.

As senior Labour figures rallied round to insist that his leadership was not under threat, Mr Blair, in Washington for the funeral of Ronald Reagan, said Labour could bounce back.

He said that a “shadow” had been cast over the elections by the war in Iraq.

“What we have got to do is to hold our nerve and see it through. Of course it’s a difficult time, and these things happen to governments, but the basic commitments we have made we are delivering.

“The fact that the Government loses council election results doesn’t really augur much for the general election. I think there are lessons, lessons we have got to learn. What has really happened is the Conservative Party have not really broken through. The Liberal Democrats have fought a campaign basically around Iraq.

The prime minister received powerful support from Chancellor Gordon Brown, seen by many Labour MPs as the obvious successor if Mr Blair’s position became untenable.

Mr Brown said that he was happy with the job that he was doing and that Mr Blair would lead the party into the general election.

“We fight and we govern as a team,” he said.

“Labour will win the general election with Tony Blair.”

There was some late good news for Mr Blair as Ken Livingstone held on as London Mayor in the face of a strong challenge from Conservative Steve Norris.