Blair goes presidential

A tough and centralised regime is announced by staff at Number 1

The firm smack of presidential-style government was unveiled yesterday, as Tony Blair's senior staff made it clear that Number Ten is to control Whitehall departments in a much more direct and personal way than ever before.

Jonathan Powell, Mr Blair's chief-of-staff, has toldl departments that all policy pronouncements must be co-ordinated from Downing Street, and Alastair Campbell, the new press secretary, has informed all departmental press chiefs that media bids for interviews with their ministers must be cleared first with him.

This follows the appointment of Peter Mandelson as a minister without portfolio to keep a close eye on other ministers on Mr Blair's behalf. The Prime Minister has also appointed Sally Morgan as his political secretary, and it will be her job to make sure that the party "marches in step" with the Government

She will work closely with Nick Brown, the new Chief Whip, to ensure that MPs toe the party line - backed up by the party's new, disciplinarian code of conduct. Ms Morgan, 37, was one of the party officers who helped Neil Kinnock purge the Trotskyist Militant Tendency from the party in the 1980s.

One Downing Street source said last night that Mr Blair was particularly keen to ensure that the Government harnessed the energy and enthusiasm of the new Parliamentary Labour Party - which is so big that there is no Commons room large enough to hold its weekly meetings.

Mr Blair will not allow the party to become the master of the Government, as happened to John Major. He wanted none of the free-for-all, roller- coasting that had taken place under the Conservatives.

One well-informed observer said last night that while many prime ministers had wanted to hold the central reins of power, a presidential system was difficult to maintain in Britain because of the weight and authority of the departments of state.

However, he added: "All the signs suggest that if what Mr Blair is planning works, then he could make Lloyd George and Margaret Thatcher look like two of nature's natural co-operators."

Mr Mandelson said on Sunday: "I think what he will want to do is to create a strong centre in government, so that all its various arms and departments have a very clear sense of their own direction."

His job, officially designated Minister without Portfolio, appears to be modelled closely on the Deputy Prime Minister's post held by Michael Heseltine in the last government - but without the Cabinet clout. Mr Mandelson will help with the "strategic implementation of our policies"; he will "make sure that our programme is kept on track", and also "ensure that [the] government's policies are effectively presented to the public and to the party."

One constitutional expert said last night that he understood why Mr Blair was attempting to create a "command model" of government - "It is all too understandable; a bit like lottery winners bingeing their money."

But he feared that it would end in tears. He said that people who tried to impose an iron hand, and failed, were all-too-often depicted as "losing their grip."

Some Labour MPs were also contrasting the centralisation of command and control within the Government and party with Labour's commitment to greater decentralisation and devolution of government in their election manifesto.

But Mr Blair was said last night to be enjoying his first few days of office immensely - and, with a massive Commons majority, a broadly supportive press, and firm City markets, he has much to celebrate on his 44th birthday today

Yesterday, he completed another round of ministerial appointments, moving a number of supporters into strategic positions throughout Whitehall. While some Blairites moved directly into the minister of state posts they had previously shadowed - Alun Michael to the Home Office; Tessa Jowell to Health; John Reid over to Defence - others were switched, including Stephen Byers, to take on schools at Education, and Alan Milburn, who jumped from Treasury to Health.

But Mr Blair added a dash of zest and inspiration to an otherwise worthy list of appointments last night, with the announcement that Tony Banks, backbench live wire and parliamentary wit, had been made Minister for Sport.

He had been cooking pasta when the phone call from Downing Street came. "I was completely gobsmacked. I didn't expect anything, certainly not this," he said.

"Having thought about it, I said yes. I wasn't one of those spending any time by the telephone and therefore I was completely surprised."

t The Conservative Party last night announced that Michael Heseltine was leaving Horton General Hospital in Banbury to travel to London's Harley Street Clinic, where he will undergo an angiogram. "The doctors are delighted with Mr Heseltine's progress and expect him to be home by the end of the week," a party spokesman said.