It's Friday, it's time for talk to Tony
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Your support makes all the difference.Tony Blair is to stage regular 90-minute question-and-answer sessions with members of the public, writes Colin Brown.
The first "Talk to Tony" session, as they have already been dubbed, will be held next Friday in the West Midlands on the subject of law and order.
The televised monthly appearances in front of voters will be held on Fridays and will be based around a particular theme, Downing Street said. He will face questions in Scotland and Wales on Labour's devolution plans.
The move is designed to build on Mr Blair's general election campaign style, when he held a series of such meetings at venues around the country.
Sir Archie Hamilton, the chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, claimed Mr Blair was trying to avoid Parliament after changing Prime Minister's questions from two 15 minute sessions each week to one session lasting 30 minutes.
"It's becoming very disconcerting and worrying that Tony Blair thinks the whole process of government can be conducted outside Parliament," Sir Archie said. "Labour think they are still fighting the general election, and think they can by-pass Parliament.
Sir Archie believed Mr Blair's weakness on devolution had been exposed by John Major who asked him five consecutive questions on the subject during the longer session of Prime Minister's questions last week.
"He has realised that the longer sessions of Prime Minister's questions have become an enormous liability for him," Sir Archie said.
"The great British public will only get one question at him, and he is very adept at not answering the question," he said.
A Downing Street spokesman confirmed that the "Talk to Tony" sessions would be open to broadcasters but it was up to them how they covered the meetings.
The format and the audience have yet to be worked out but the spokesman insisted it would not be a "party shindig".
"It is keeping in touch with members of the public - the British people - and not getting stuck in Westminster," the spokesman said.
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