Blairite ministers turn on Brown as poll reveals Tory lead over Labour

Gordon Brown faced a series of fresh setbacks today as Blairite ministers openly questioned his premiership and a new poll showed the Tories racing ahead of Labour.

The spectre of Tony Blair further loomed over the Prime Minister after it became clear that Mr Brown's predecessor thinks he is making a hash of running the country.

One Cabinet minister acknowledged today that Mr Brown had yet to convince voters of his vision for the next 10 years.

John Hutton's warning came as another leading Blairite, former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer, cautioned: "Renewal does not come from change of leadership alone."

Mr Hutton, the Business and Enterprise Secretary, insisted that it was not "the beginning of the end" for the Labour Government.

But he said: "The key challenge for us - and Gordon has rightly identified this - it's a vision thing.

"What we have got to do now is set out our vision for the next 10 years."

A spokesman for Mr Blair was forced to deny reports today that he was unhappy with his successor and concerned that the New Labour brand was not being defended.

Mr Hutton's aides insisted he was entirely supportive of the Prime Minister and he was not suggesting Mr Brown lacked vision.

"It's about the nitty-gritty of knuckling down in the next few months," one said. "It's not about any lack of a huge vision".

Lord Falconer also reiterated the need to "make clear our vision" to the country.

,p>

In an article for The Sunday Times, which also carried anonymous comments from friends of Mr Blair complaining that the premier's conference speech had been "empty", Lord Falconer reiterated the need for him to "make clear our vision".

In a further setback to Mr Brown, senior Labour sources say that Mr Blair believes his successor has made the same mistake as former US Vice-President Al Gore, who lost to George Bush in the 2000 Presidential election after disowning his old boss Bill Clinton.

A former Minister close to Mr Blair told The Mail on Sunday: 'When Gordon became PM, Tony put their differences to one side and was willing him to succeed.

Scroll down for more...

'He was delighted that he started out so well but feels he has lost his way.

'Tony believes Gordon has gone much too far in trying to distance himself from New Labour's ten years in office. It is where Al Gore went wrong and is playing into the Tories' hands.'

Mr Blair's view is shared by US-born pollster Mark Penn, who has advised Hillary Clinton and Mr Blair and has also been consulted by Mr Brown. Mr Penn said that by disowning Mr Blair, Mr Brown had fallen into the same trap as Mr Gore.

Mr Blair's damning verdict on the Prime Minister comes as a new BPIX opinion poll for The Mail on Sunday shows the Tories racing into a four-point lead over Labour.

The new figures mark an astonishing 11-point turnaround in the fortunes of Mr Brown and David Cameron.

The Conservatives are now on 41 points with Labour on 37. The transformation comes after Mr Brown's General Election U-turn and Mr Cameron's pledge to slash inheritance tax.

A total of 41 per cent favour the Conservative proposal to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1million, with 31 per cent preferring Labour's decision to convert the current £300,000 per person into an allowance of £600,000 per couple.

And more than one in three say their opinion of the Prime Minister has gone down in the past week, while 32 per cent say their view of Mr Cameron has gone up.

Two weeks ago, in the unique character tests set by BPIX, most people said Mr Brown would be their first choice as a dinner party companion and babysitter, and thought he was most likely to come to their aid if they were attacked in the street. Now the position is reversed.

And when asked which dog Mr Cameron reminded them of, two weeks ago most people chose a poodle. Now he is seen as a Middle England-friendly labrador.

There is more trouble for Mr Brown ahead of this week's EU summit in Lisbon. Nearly two-thirds of voters want a referendum on the new EU Treaty and 44 per cent say they would vote against it, with only 18 per cent in favour.

Mr Brown's young team of Cabinet advisers – blamed for the on-off Election shambles – were likened to the Tufty Club at an angry showdown between the Prime Minister and Labour MPs, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

At a private meeting between Mr Brown and Labour's Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday, MPs complained he was relying too much on a tight 'clique' of aides.

The remarks are the most direct attack yet on Douglas Alexander, Ed Balls and Ed Miliband – the Ministers who led demands for an autumn Election.

Durham North MP Kevan Jones told Mr Brown and Mr Alexander to their faces: 'We are dealing with a political party, not a clique. You've got into the position in a few months that it took Blair years to get to.'

As the meeting broke up, Mr Jones was overheard saying: 'These people are just like the Tufty Club' – an organisation that taught children about road safety in the Sixties.

* BPIX interviewed 2,081 people online between Thursday and yesterday.