Defiant PM says: I'll face down Iraq protesters

War critics dismissed as 'urban intellectuals'. Most Britons want troops out, poll shows

He believes Labour will lose if it seeks to win back middle-class voters who protested against the war at the last election and can rely instead on its heartland to remain in power.

Mr Blair's hardline stance comes as a poll released last night showed that a majority of Britons wanted UK troops to pull out. Senior military, diplomatic and intelligence figures added their voices to the protest last night.

The Prime Minister's determination to ignore the issue was made clear yesterday when party managers stifled a proposed debate on Iraq.

Mr Blair will make only a passing reference to the subject in his main conference speech on Tuesday, most of which will be about the importance of improving choice in health and education.

His strategy was made clear by one of his ministers last week who said that "urban intellectuals" accounted for just 4 per cent of the vote. Liam Byrne singled out Cambridge - lost to the Liberal Democrats on an anti-war vote - as he argued that Labour must stick to economic issues. "If we win back Cambridge but lose seats such as Crawley, we will be out of power."

The spectre of the conflict loomed over the eve of the gathering, however, as senior military and diplomatic figures added their voices to calls for an exit strategy.

The former top mandarin at the Ministry of Defence, Sir Michael Quinlan, told The Independent on Sunday: "Perhaps we shall soon be - if we are not already - doing more harm by staying as perceived occupiers than by departing."

Meanwhile a YouGov poll for Five News last night showed that 57 per cent of those asked said yes to the question "should British troops pull out of Iraq?" while 27 per cent said no.

Labour's conference managers ruled that there should be no discussion of a resolution backed by two dozen constituency parties, which praised the late Robin Cook's commitment to "a world order governed by rules" - fearing that it would be used as an opening to attack the decision to go to war with Iraq without full UN backing. Instead of a debate, the conference will hear speeches in praise of Cook and of James Callaghan and Mo Mowlam, who also died this year, led by the former Labour leader Neil Kinnock.

Gordon Brown last night appeared to accept Mr Blair's terms for an " orderly transition" of power. In a newspaper interview, he said: " The programme of reform and modernisation will continue when Tony steps down. "

However, a less rosy picture of the relationship was provided in a new book on John Prescott. When the Deputy Prime Minister sought to persuade Mr Brown to return to help Mr Blair win a third term this year, the Chancellor is said to have snapped: "He's ratted on me and he will rat on you."