Blair-Brown feud 'not political'

12 April 2012

Differences between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were purely personal and never about the direction of the Labour Party, Peter Mandelson has revealed.

But the ex-Cabinet minister added that the feud between the twin architects of New Labour should never have been allowed to develop.

Mr Mandelson, who fell out with Mr Brown after backing Mr Blair for the Labour leadership in 1994, has previously admitted there was a "fissure" between the pair.

But he said on Tuesday that it was not ideological and insisted that the Prime Minister was now building on his predecessor's work.

"It was personal and that is where I think it needs to remain - behind us," the European Commissioner said.

"Tony Blair has now left office, he's gone. The other architect of New Labour is taking the project forwards."

Pressed further about the "fissure", Mr Mandelson added: "It shouldn't be exaggerated but nor should it have been allowed to happen and continue as it did."

Commenting on Mr Brown's first speech as Premier to the Labour Party Conference on Monday, Mr Mandelson said he had "taken Tony Blair's big tent and thrown it wide open".

But he challenged the Prime Minister to flesh out how he planned to deliver his vision for Britain.

"We know from his speech yesterday much more clearly what a Gordon Brown-led Government would do, we know the 'what'," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. "As one of the newspapers said today, what he's got to do now is to set out the 'how' and that is, I think, the challenge for him in the coming weeks and months."

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