Cherie Blair: 'Tony advising Brown'

Tony Blair is said to be advising Gordon Brown on how to win the next general election.The former Prime Minister's wife has revealed that Mr Blair has been counselling his successor through the current political turmoil.She said: "I know that Tony thinks Gordon could win the election and I know that he has spoken to Gordon about how he could do that."Tony has given Gordon advice. He and Gordon talk to each other even now."Mrs Blair said she took no pleasure in Mr Brown's current troubles and would "be delighted" to campaign for the Labour Party in future.The revelations come ahead of the release of Mrs Blair's autobiography, Speaking For Myself, in which she has disclosed that her husband would have stood down as Prime Minister before the 2005 general election if Mr Brown had been prepared to back his public service reforms.Mrs Blair said her husband had suffered a "crisis of confidence" over the Iraq war, fearing that he had become an electoral liability.But she said he decided that he had to stay on to entrench his plans for city academies, foundation hospitals and pension reform.She said Mr Brown was "rattling the keys above his head" and failed to understand that Mr Blair would have quit if he had supported his reforms."Tony would have stood down, there is no question", she said. "Instead of which, Tony felt he had no option but to stay on and fight for the things he believed in."I was convinced that if Tony failed to stand for a third term, it would be seen as a response to the negative criticism of the war. It would be read by history as a tacit admission of failure."The timing of the publication of Mrs Blair's autobiography has come as a surprise, having originally been scheduled for the autumn. It is now due out on Thursday.Mrs Blair said some of the proceeds will go the charity Breast Cancer Care.Her aunt died from breast cancer and Mrs Blair's literary agent Kate Jones had been treated for breast cancer prior to her death in February from liver cancer.

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ITN | May 10, 2008

Tags:. .political. .plans. .general. .fight. .service