Blair prepares for final conference as PM

Britain’s Labour Party opens its annual conference in Manchester later today – Tony Blair’s last as Prime Minister. Now Blair’s promised to step down by next summer at the latest, he can expect a relatively smooth run at the conference from the Labour faithful – while many are impatient to see him go, there remains a residue of gratitude for the man who’s lead the party to three successive general election victories.

The bigger threat to Labour’s peace of mind looks set to come on the streets outside – traditionally the party holds its conferences at out of the way seaside resorts – by opting for Manchester this time they’ve made it far easier for protest movements to rally their supporters – tens of thousand have gathered to make their voice heard, with the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan the rallying call.

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