Labour conference confirmed that Blair is under no pressure from his party. He is not in any sense accountable to the trade unions, the constituency activists, the MPs or even the rest of the New Labour cabinet. He does not need them, so he will not heed them. The threatened conference floor revolts, over issues like fees for unversity students, were not so much crushed as simply waved away with a flick of the leader's regal wrist, while Blair's big speech was clearly directed over the party delegates' heads to the world outside the conference hall.

Having divorced himself from his party, Blair is better able to act as the anointed conscience of the nation, as when he spoke outside his local church on the morning of the princess'death. 'Think of it', says Newsweek, 'as the Dianafication of Tony Blair'. Or the investiture of the People's Prince.

From this elevated position it has been possible for Blair to bring the entire British establishment behind him. With the fear of the left vanquished, Blair can present an image of firm ethical leadership for all those who feel they have been cast adrift by the collapse of the Tory Party, traditional flagship of the British elite. It is the near-universal acceptance which Blair has won from the erstwhile enemy camps of business, the media and the state machine which has allowed a New Labour premier to win public approval ratings that no old Tory could ever dream of.

It is now deemed blasphemous for anybody in Britain to whisper a