command an unheard-of degree of support, or at least acquiescence, across British society. A well-publicised 'private' Labour Party poll gave him an approval rating of 93 per cent. An independent Mori poll put him at 75 per cent - 10 points up in the month since Diana's death, and fully 16 points above the previous highest-recorded approval rating of 59 per cent, for Margaret Thatcher after her victory in the 1982 Falklands War.

Such levels of public support are normally reserved for dictators who stuff ballot boxes and bury their critics. But Blair is no self-serving tyrant. He is a churchy, caring professional filled with all the values of Britain AD (After Diana): compassionate, giving, community-minded and claiming a special feel for the emotional will of 'the People'. Andthat is what makes his new status so dangerous.

Like Diana did before her death, Blair has ascended into the heavens above the moral high ground, looking down on the insect-life scurrying around in the sordid world of politics below. 'I am not a political figure, I am a humanitarian', Diana would say when cynical Tories accused her of meddling in politics with her campaigns against landmines. That might have sounded fair enough for a fairy tale princess, but Blair has now adopted a similarly high-minded line, giving him the distinction of being the first prime minister effectively to reject party politics.

Blair's great success has been in separating himself from the Labour Party. Despite the feverish media attempts to resurrect the threat from the old, dead left, this year's