Blair blow to Livingstone's Labour hopes

Tony Blair has dealt a potentially fatal blow to Ken Livingstone's hopes of rejoining Labour and becoming its candidate in next year's mayoral elections.

The intervention from the Prime Minister came in the run-up to next week's key by-election in Brent East, Mr Livingstone's former parliamentary seat.

Mr Blair's move has sparked a fresh round of infighting inside Labour and has left party general secretary David Triesman "under a cloud", according to insiders.

The flashpoint came over plans by Mr Triesman to issue an official Labour leaflet in Brent East next week praising Mr Livingstone's record as Mayor. As soon as Mr Blair heard of the move, however, he put an immediate stop to it, according to well-placed sources.

The Prime Minister
was said to have seen the plan as an effort by the Mayor's supporters to "bounce" him nito agreeing moves to readmit him to the Labour Party.

Mr Triesman's proposal came after Mr Livingstone's vocal support for Labour's by-election candidate, Robert Evans, who is facing a tough fight to hold on to the seat from the Liberal Democrats.

The general secretary thought the leaflet might help win over wavering Labour supporters in the crucial run-up to polling.

However, if the leaflet had gone out it would have allowed Mr Livingstone to claim he had the backing of the party's high command.

A well-placed source said: "The Prime Minister was furious. As soon as he heard about it, he stamped on it."

Mr Livingstone was given a fiveyearban after quitting Labour to stand as an independent for Mayor in 2000. If it is not rescinded it would prevent him from rejoining in time for next year's poll.

Two months ago, claims began emerging that a "peace deal" was on the cards.

This would have seen Labour's candidate, Nicky Gavron, pulling
out of the contest in return for a guarantee that she would remain
Mr Livingstone’s deputy.

Today a Labour Party spokesman denied there had been a plan to put out a leaflet supporting Mr Livingstone.