Blair warns against in-fighting

Tony Blair today urged left-wingers not to return to the in-fighting that kept Labour out of power for 18 years.

The British Prime Minister warned a return to the confrontations of the past risked throwing away Labour’s dream of an historic third term in power.

He acknowledged unease among traditionalists over his transformation of the party into New Labour.

In a speech to the National Policy Forum in Warwick he said: “We have given up the luxury of criticism for the obligation of decision.

But “with the pain has come the gain”, the PM said.

Mr Blair said Labour had been transformed into a party which fostered dialogue rather than confrontation.

The modernisers had brought politicians and party activists together rather than driving them apart.

Labour was now more united ideologically than ever before.

Mr Blair said the greatest challenge to the modernisers had been to disprove the claim that to “modernise was to betray”.

He said modernisation need not be at odds with tradition. Labour retained its ideology, but applied it to modern settings.

“In fact values unless allied to the real world are lifeless,” he said.

“They only come alive precisely when set firm in modern reality. So when we change policy to meet people’s expectations in the modern world, those traditional values are not operating separately from that modern setting, they are in fact shaping it.”

The Premier said Labour had learned “all there is to know” about the difference between ideology and dogma.

Ideology gave the party its roots, dogma stopped it growing.

He told delegates: “I know that just occasionally we all wish it didn’t have to be like this: that maybe we could have won as we were; that we could have governed without quite so many tough decisions; that we could win again in a more confined and safe way. Unfortunately it’s not true.”