Tony tells the crowd he loves them.
Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA
Odd scenes from Tony Blair's speech to London activists in the National Portrait Gallery this morning. First he dipped into very Old Labour language, using "solidarity" twice and "comrades" once (as in "some comrades have fallen"). Then, after telling activists how hard they have worked, he uttered words that never before dropped from this prime minister's mouth in public. Pointing into the sea of bodies, he told the crowd: "I love you."
Maybe it's because it is his birthday, maybe a Blair freed from electoral pressures will become a loved-up lefty. Or maybe he is just very tired. Still, the last time I heard anyone tell a roomful of people he loved them at 6.30am and then claim the "night is still young" there were clearly drugs involved. Perhaps losing half a parliamentary majority in a single night isn't such a bad experience after all.
