Is Campbell Set For A Lordship?

Brown's electioneering has already moved up a gear, reportedly offering New Labour's hard man, Alastair Campbell, a seat in the House of Lords, to allow the Downing Street spin-doctor a ministerial job ahead of the general election. Campbell, according to reports, is said to be "resisting the move". But the Orange Party smells a PR rat. Speculation like this is often placed in the media to gauge public reaction and as a softening up exercise. 

The move makes sense for canny Brown and his Downing Street team of spin doctors. Campbell remains a major player behind the scenes as Brown's informal adviser. But unlike the old days, he doesn't have the formal clout to sit in on meetings and steer and influence policy.

A two pronged attack would wrong-foot the Tories and Mandelson and Campbell make a perfect combination. But Brown won't make the same mistake as Blair, who used his royal prerogative to promote Campbell and side step and override the civil service. 

The move now has a precedent after Mandelson took the ermine,  so that he could join the government as business minister. 

Campbell, remains a highly controversial figure on the fringe of government, not least for his part in the 'dodgy dossier' that was used to justify the Iraq invasion. Claims that this had been "sexed up" sent Campbell into a spin, waging a fierce campaign against the BBC, which eventually led to the death of government scientist Dr David Kelly. 

Campbell, one of the original New Labour architects along with Blair, Mandelson and political polster Philip Gould, was one of the key figures in the political rebirth of Brown as he faced down last summer's Blairite coup.

The move would be the latest in a series of measures by team Brown with speculation rife over the come back of other big beasts all in the name of Progress towards a New Labour election victory. 

Arch-Blairite Alan Milburn is to lead a government commission on social mobility. Disgraced former home secretary, David Blunkett, is also tipped for a return. 

No doubt, like Mandelson, when the time is right, Campbell will finally be dragged screaming to the cameras claiming he had no choice but to bow to the pressure. It will be an "honour and privilege to serve" and he's reluctantly making all these sacrifices "in the best interests of the Party" and a cushy and powerful seat  in the House of Lords and government.

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The Truth Behind Blair's Leaked Memo

Brown will have to watch his back, while away watching the Olympics in Beijing. Blair and the gang are on the move. The leaked Blair memo, accusing Brown of "dissing the Party", exposes the stranglehold the original New Labour gang has on power and explains Brown's sudden U-turn after his short-lived honeymoon as prime minister. 

Brown was part of the original group which plotted to take over the Labour Party in the late 90s but he was never one of its main architects.

That dubious honour belongs to Tony Blair, Alistair Campbell, Philip Gould, the tight clique of advisors and the master of dark arts, Peter Mandelson. 

The original memo, a watered down version of Blair's views and written in the third person, has Mandelson, Campbell and the top Blair advisors written all over it. 

Flushed with success after taking over the Party and giddy with power over the last ten years, the architects of the New Labour Project were angry at any suggestion of changes and now will stop at nothing to keep alive their pet Project.

The memo revealed in the Mail on Sunday explains a lot. 

Brown, in the first few weeks of his leadership, publicly distanced himself from the Blair years. 

He famously renounced spin and promised to be honest. Ditching the supercasino, rethinking Blair policy on health and education, distancing himself from the Iraq War and hinting at troop withdrawal, was going too far. On that, Brown "dissed our own record", said the memo.  

Then suddenly it all stopped. He came back on-message. Brown spent the rest of the year following the agreed Blair agenda.

The memo was written last autumn, after a disastrous Labour conference which saw Brown 'bottle' a general election.

Brown just wasn't living up to their expectations. They can see disaster in the shape of Cameron, waiting in the wings. Brown is now too much of a liability for The Project. 

Blair has a world agenda and sights on the EU presidency. Mandelson is showing his support for Miliband as the heir to Blair. Campbell is still lurking in the background. 

It's no coincidence this leaked memo came just days after Miliband’s extraordinary challlenge for the leadership. A challenge not dismissed by Mandelson.

Blair recently has been popping up all over the place. So has Mandelson, who is reported to been holding regular talks with Miliband. 

This latest salvo in the Blair plan to keep their grip on power, may prove too strong for the handful of Brownites or the True Labour voice in the Party.

One MP said: “Tony should tell his friends to stop causing trouble and let Gordon get on with the job.” 

Fat chance. Blairite ex-ministers and the back-room team are already plotting their next move.

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