Blair book describes Brown as 'maddening'
Tony Blair found Gordon Brown "maddening" and blamed the loss of the 2010 election on his former chancellor abandoning New Labour principles, according to his memoirs.
The former prime minister said it would have been "well nigh impossible" to prevent Brown succeeding him when he stepped down in 2007.
In his book 'A Journey', published today, Blair said that sacking Brown would have destabilised the government and could have resulted in him being ousted earlier from office.
In an interview with The Guardian, the former prime minister said towards the end of his time in office the relationship with his eventual successor became "difficult, very difficult" with disagreements on major aspects of policy.
But Britain's longest- serving Labour prime minister also acknowledged the strengths that made Brown such a formidable rival.
"Was he difficult, at times maddening? Yes. But he was also strong, capable and brilliant, and those were qualities for which I never lost respect."
Alastair Campbell said it was "definitely the case" that from time to time Blair and Brown did not get on, but it was a big book and that was just one part of it.
The former chief press officer told Radio 5 Live: "What I think Tony tries to put across in this book in relation to his relationship with Gordon Brown, which goes back a long long way, is that they delivered a huge amount together, but there were some very very difficult times as well, there's no doubt about that."
The 700-page memoir also covers events throughout Blair's political life, from his election as Labour leader in 1994 and prime minister three years later to the death of Princess Diana in 1997, the Northern Ireland peace talks, war in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan, and the struggle against terrorism.
He also reveals that the pressures of his role led to concern over his alcohol intake.
Blair will be out of the UK today, attending the opening of Middle East peace talks at the White House in Washington in his role as an envoy for the "Quartet" of the United Nations, Russia, the United States and the European Union.
Tony Blair's interview with Andrew Marr will be aired tonight on BBC Two.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd
Ray Erickson
1st Sep 2010 at 9:32 pm