Former PM’s team suggested initial less-politicised drafts seemed patronising and appealed to ‘fuddy-duddy Britain’
Brown’s allies could wreck Labour’s 2005 election hopes, Mandelson warned
Tony Blair’s key advisers agonised over the writing of his notoriously ill-judged speech to the Women’s Institute (WI) which saw the then prime minister heckled and slow hand-clapped before 10,000 members at Wembley Arena, newly released documents reveal.
Despite the WI explicitly warning they were “wary of anything that smacked of capital P politics”, Blair’s aides were critical of his first draft and bombarded him with additions to inject more policy.
Fresh from paternity leave after the birth of his son Leo, Blair believed the annual WI conference in 2000 allowed for a more personal and reflective speech and an opportunity to blend tradition and modernity to appeal to middle England.
