Cheering to the rafters as happy-clappy Tony is forgiven

[Barrett808]

JASON BEATTIE'S SKETCH

AFTER the fire and brimstone of Gordon Brown, delegates at the Labour conference came together yesterday for a happy-clappy service with Tony.

There was no Brown-inspired Presbyterian nonsense this time. This was the moment for the guitars and tambourine section of the Labour Party, the ones who think a good night out is a wine box and a sing-a-long to a Simon and Garfunkel LP.

From the moment the lights went down, they were insufferably upbeat. On a giant screen at the back of the stage flashed reminders of Labour’s achievements: "Devolution in Scotland"; "25,000 more nurses"; "Bringing matrons back to hospital wards".

Each was met with louder and louder cheers. It was a sign of the current sanity of the Labour Party that its members applauded deliriously because the government has revived Hattie Jacques.

Behind the Prime Minister sat not the Cabinet, but 50 "ordinary" party members. It was not clear why they were there. Were they the choir? Were they the last people left in the Labour Party who believed Tony Blair did not lie over Iraq?

It soon became obvious. Unlike the Cabinet, this lot could be relied upon to applaud more or less spontaneously at the right moments.

It was an unnecessary touch, as Mr Blair was met with a standing ovation and prolonged applause.

...

This was masochism on a scale not seen since the Conservatives voted IDS as their leader. "Go on," they begged, "say something nasty about asylum seekers."

And Tony did. For a party supposedly out of love with its leader, they had a funny way of showing it.


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http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/politics.cfm?id=1085232003