Blair faces his longest week

The Scotsman - 12 July 2004

Sadly for Mr Blair’s friends, Iraq may this week saddle them and the Labour Party with some semi-permanent reminders of the conflict and its political consequences: two new Liberal Democrat MPs.

Always quick to seize any campaigning opportunity, Charles Kennedy’s troops aim to capitalise fully on the Butler Report by printing last-minute posters and flyers summarising Butler’s findings, hoping to drive the anti-war message home right up the minute the polls open.

Publicly, Labour is upbeat about the seats, where the party had healthy majorities in 2001. Privately, the mood is decidedly downbeat. "It will be a miracle if we hold both seats," said one minister. "The timing of Butler couldn’t be worse for us really."

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