By-election hands Blair a bitter post-war blow

19 September 2003, 18:00 PM

AFP, London

British Prime Minister Tony Blair suffered a painful mid-term blow at the polls this week when a stronghold of his Labour Party fell to the Liberal Democrats in a closely fought by-election, the first since the Iraq war.

It was the first time since Blair swept to power six years ago that Labour has lost a by-election anywhere, let alone in the ethnically diverse north London constituency of Brent East.

Liberal Democrat standard bearer Sarah Teather defeated Robert Evans, a Labour member of the European Parliament, by a 1,118-vote margin to become at 29 the youngest member of the British parliament, the House of Commons.

"Tony Blair, I hope that you are listening tonight," said Teather as the results of Thursday's ballot were announced in the early hours of Friday.

"The people of Brent have spoken for the people of Britain. They want you to listen. They want you to deliver."

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said the outcome was due in large part to Blair taking the nation into the US-led war against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The invasion of Iraq was opposed by the Liberal Democrats -- Britain's third political party -- and by a great many Britons.

"In a way, Iraq has really led to an awful lot of questions being raised in terms of trust, motivation, how they are being managed, not led, by the government," Kennedy told BBC radio.

"It has led to an awful sense of doubt both about Tony Blair personally and about this (Labour) administration. I think that is going to be difficult for the government."

Political analysts agreed.

"He (Blair) is certainly is paying the price for Iraq," Patrick Dunleavy, a professor of government at the London School of Economics, told AFP. "I think he has become a polarising figure in British politics."

The Brent East by-election -- called after the death in June of 45-year-old Labour MP Paul Daisley and contested by no less than 16 candidates -- was the first since US and British troops invaded Iraq six months ago this weekend.

It was also the first since the BBC aired allegations in May that Blair's government had "sexed up" an intelligence report to boost the case for tough action against Saddam Hussein's regime.