'We won 4-1': Leaders bask in Blackpool glory

When Labour leaders arrived in Blackpool last Saturday they were nervous that their annual conference would be a messy affair overshadowed by deep divisions in the party over Iraq.

Labour's private polling shows that many voters are worried Tony Blair is devoting too much time to international affairs. Grassroots Labour activists, too, say the message on the doorstep is that he should spend more time with his own country.

So the conference slogan was "schools and hospitals first" and Mr Blair devoted his address on Tuesday to his plans to "transform" public services. The Government had a "black Monday" when it suffered a defeat on the private finance initiative (PFI) and made a tactical retreat to avoid defeat on Iraq.

But Mr Blair's address, and a spellbinding performance by Bill Clinton, turned the conference from a potential disaster to an undoubted success. "We won 4-1," smiled one senior party figure as he left Blackpool yesterday.

Perhaps the most revealing moment was the unscripted ovation for Mr Blair when he introduced Mr Clinton on Wednesday. Many of the people who defeated him over PFI showed real affection towards a man who takes pride in not being "born" into their party.

Mr Blair managed to pacify many of his critics even though he made clear that he wanted more private sector involvement in public services. "He stroked the activists and unions with one hand and strangled them with the other, but they lapped it up," complained one left-winger.

The conference leaves Mr Blair in unmistakable command of his party and the country. There is a new confidence in the Government. Ministers avoided the usual trick of packing their speeches with new or reheated policy announcements. Mr Blair said he now had "a far clearer idea" of the direction in which he wanted to take his Government. It was a curious statement to make five years after coming to power. One cabinet minister said: "In the first term we still had the mentality of an opposition. That's why we relied too much on spin. Now we have really started to govern."

But there are plenty of problems on the road ahead. Global economic clouds are gathering. Mr Blair may not be able to put off for ever a decision on whether Britain will join the United States in military action in Iraq without United Nations approval. Although delegates welcomed his stress on the UN, it is an open secret he would stick with the US.

Will Mr Blair really be as "bold" as he promised when the tricky decisions arise on public service reforms? Will the voters really notice an improvement in hospitals, schools and transport by the next general election? Moreover, will he really be as "bold" on the euro as his body language suggests he wants to be? We shall soon know.