Labour at war over 'secret' bid by Blears to be deputy

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Conflict: Rivals say Hazel Blears has an unfair advantage

Fierce in-fighting has broken out in the Labour Party over chairwoman Hazel Blears's "secret" candidacy for the post of deputy leader.

She is known to be keen to throw her hat into the ring.

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But in her role as party chairman, Mrs Blears oversees the timing and terms of the contest that will take place when Tony Blair stands down and John Prescott steps aside as his deputy.

This combination of roles is causing unhappiness in rival camps, with other candidates ranging from Peter Hain to Harriet Harman complaining that her interest in the role of deputy causes a clash of loyalty with her current responsibilities.

Sources in three camps have told the Standard that they consider Mrs Blears's failure to declare her candidacy, even though her intention to run is widely talked about at Westminster, is unfair on other contenders.

Feelings are running so high that Ms Harman sought to persuade two of the other candidates to sign a letter asking Mrs Blears to come clean about her plans.

One friend of Ms Harman suggested that Mrs Blears should ask to relinquish the party chairmanship if she intends to stand.

The issue came to a head last week when Mrs Blears attended a National Executive Committee meeting to oversee plans for the leadership and deputy contests. "She can't be both judge and jury in this," said one rival contender. "She is helping organise the transition and in charge of talks about the process and timing of the leadership elections but she has a direct interest in what follows. That is causing a lot of concern."

Some ministers were angry to discover, from a report in the Standard, that Mrs Blears had personally cancelled Labour's spring conference to facilitate a smoother leadership transition.

Mrs Blears's supporters agree they are in "uncharted territory".

"There is nothing in the rule book to cope with this situation," said one supporter.

"Hazel's view is there is no vacancy and it would be wrong for her, given her party responsibilities, to put herself forward to replace the serving deputy leader. But she is entitled to run - she already has a lot of support."

Mrs Blears has indicated that she does not intend to give way to her critics, saying: "I am continuing my job of strengthening the party and taking the fight to David Cameron."

Several cabinet modernisers are thinking of supporting Mrs Blears, who has established herself as a go-between over the handover of power from Mr Blair to his most likely successor, Gordon Brown.

They consider her voice would act as a balancing conduit for the ideas and interests of those who might otherwise be run over by what one minister called "the runaway train that is Gordon".

The issue is the latest complication to result from Mr Blair's "long goodbye". In the likely absence of a leadership contest, the post of deputy is being hotly contested.

Although she was previously considered close to the Blairites, Mrs Blears has become more acceptable to the Chancellor who is anxious to show he can adopt an inclusive style of leadership.

Crisp, engaging and outspoken, she has moved quietly into the role of adviser to the virtually allmale Brown team on how to rescue the female vote from David Cameron's Conservatives.

She has warned Labour needs a distinctive "female voice" to fight the rise of Cameronism. "The voice she means is hers," said a colleague. "Hazel is determined to have a go."

 

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