Tony Blair last night stepped up Labour's battle against poll apathy by accusing cynics and pessimists of dishonouring the memory of the country's war dead.

Speaking in Yorkshire, Blair urged people not to let the cynics or "parts of the media" win.

Blair is set to tour his County Durham constituency as aides put together the expected cabinet reshuffle for a Friday morning announcement. He will hear his own result at around 1.20am, will make a brief acceptance speech before making Trimdon Labour Club his base until returning to London in the early hours.

Blair and Millbank will stress that an election victory is "business as usual" with low-key celebrations of the expected landslide victory. "Hitting the ground running" Blair will announce a widely trailed Whitehall shake-up believed to boost Downing Street at the Treasury's expense.