LONDON - MR Tony Blair has been advising his successor Gordon Brown on how to win the next general election, The Times' political editor said on Friday after interviewing the former British prime minister's wife.
'She told us that they talked quite regularly,' Mr Philip Webster told Sky News television ahead of an interview with Mrs Cherie Blair in the newspaper's Saturday edition to publicise her memoirs of life at number 10 Downing Street.
'She admits she doesn't know precisely what they say but she does say that Tony has been saying to Gordon that despite everything, you can win the next election and she told us he has told Gordon, 'This is how you do it'.'
News that Mr Blair, a three-times general election winner, has been advising Mr Brown is likely to be a surprise, given the alleged animosity the ex-finance minister felt towards his predecessor for not handing over power sooner.
Mr Brown took over from Mr Blair in June last year but despite a strong start has since slumped in popularity and last week led the governing Labour Party to its worst local election showing in 40 years.
An opinion poll published on Thursday suggested support for Labour had now fallen to a record low, with the main opposition Conservative party 26 points ahead and on course for victory at the next general election.
Mrs Cherie Blair is said to have disliked Mr Brown and at the 2006 Labour Party conference was alleged to have dismissed as a 'lie' that her husband and his number two had a close working relationship.
Mr Webster said the former prime minister's wife was 'pretty careful not to appear in any way disloyal to Mr Gordon Brown' given the problems he and the government were facing.
Mr Blair is now the international community's Middle East envoy.
