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Campaign analysis: Wednesday April 13
Daniel Forman's daily diary of the election campaign.
Wednesday April 13 12:05pm GMT
Labour's manifesto launch may have had the appearance of a primary school play, with seven senior Cabinet ministers passing the baton of narration around, however this event was designed to do two things.
First, to make clear the technocratic substance of the government's programme for a third term, with 112 text heavy pages in the document.
The contrast with the Conservative Party's lighter version could not have been clearer. There were initiatives on everything from sports days to cervical smears.
Particularly, ministers picked up on policies they have been prevented from introducing in the past four years such as a new offence of incitement to religious hatred and removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords.
The second objective was to make clear that even though Tony Blair will not be leading Labour at the next election, his legacy will last under his obvious successor stood next to him.
Hence his use even of Gordon Brown's favourite "progressive consensus" phrase.
The group photo strategy, with all Cabinet ministers bar Baroness Amos on the platform, was also about downgrading Blair's presidential tendencies and upgrading the chancellor's clear candidacy-in-waiting.
For his part, Brown was more effusive than ever on extending choice in the public services.
"Diversity is exactly what I have supported at the Treasury," he said at one point, as colleagues seated behind him tried desperately not to raise their eyebrows.
He also nodded enthusiastically as the prime minister described the manifesto as "quintessentially New Labour".
But there was little use of the phrase on the little red book itself or in the City theatre's decorations.
It seems the slogan has been quietly dropped as the party looks forward to its next four years.
Blair insisted he would serve in them all, yet it is an unlikely idea.
As he passes the baton onto Brown the best he can hope for is a third term in which his views and "values" persist.
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