More control freakery, power struggles and Party feuds

...nope, not Galloway v the SWP.

This time its more on the long running feud between the Brown and Blair camps. Last week there were reports of plots against Brown by disgruntled Blairites,today The Mail on Sunday (yep, just reading it online leaves me feeling a little grubby ) has a story about a new book by Anthony Seldon:

Tony Blair's allies were accused of trying to sabotage Gordon Brown's Government last night after sensational revelations about rows between the two men in a new book written with unprecedented access to Mr Blair's Downing Street.

The book by Britain's leading political biographer, Dr Anthony Seldon, discloses a series of explosive clashes as Mr Brown plotted to force Mr Blair to resign.

And it gives a revealing insight into the tensions in Mr Brown's inner circle with a series of venomous disclosures about one of the Prime Minister's closest allies, Schools Secretary Ed Balls

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Serialisation of the book, Blair Unbound, starts today in The Mail on Sunday and gives shocking accounts of rows between Mr Blair and Mr Brown and their allies – often involving the most abusive language.

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In his book, Dr Seldon shows Mr Blair struggling to govern the country against a backdrop of constant tension and foul-mouthed flashpoints with Mr Brown.

More often than not, it is Mr Brown who loses his temper. Seldon says that when Mr Blair put Alan Milburn in charge of Labour's 2005 election team, Mr Brown shouted: "You've appointed that f****** Milburn! Is it about cooking the manifesto against me?"

After another showdown, Mr Blair complained: "All he would say is, 'When are you going to F-off out of here?'"

Bickering aside, what caught my eye was what Blair is supposed to have said :


The book claims that Mr Blair protested: "I feel like an abused and bullied wife," after Mr Balls was "astonishingly rude" to him during talks between the camps last year over when he should leave No 10.

No, you were the most powerful political figure in Britain and your situation in no way resembled that of an abused wife (or partner). Its offensive and insulting to make that comparison and shows up a total lack of awareness.You had control and power, something an abused woman does not have . You were, and are, rich and could extricate yourself from that situation . You were not mentally , as well as physically, beaten down.