Papers sense Blair's mortality

Saturday's newspapers all agree that Tony Blair's Midas touch has finally deserted him.

Labour's first by-election defeat for 15 years leads the Independent to pronounce that the prime minister's "aura of invincibility" has been broken.

The Guardian agrees that the result was a clear intimation of Mr Blair's political mortality.

The Express asks "Where did it all go wrong Tony?", comparing New Labour's early years as the "listening party" to its current incarnation which, it says, is desperately out of touch with ordinary people.

Bad for IDS

But the Financial Times has words of comfort for Mr Blair. His tenancy of Number 10 may have been shaken by Brent East, it says, but the odds are still heavily in favour of a renewal.

The Telegraph and the Independent agree that the biggest loser is Iain Duncan Smith.

The Independent warns that the result could have a sinister message for the Tory leader - that he is plainly not up to providing a credible alternative to Labour.

The Telegraph says that while the Conservatives lost their status as Britain's natural party of government long ago, they now also appear to have stopped being the natural party of opposition.

Summit hopes

While some senior figures in the Labour party blame the result on a backlash to the war in Iraq, the Times is not so sure.

The message, it believes, is more likely to be that reforms of the public services are not being delivered quickly enough.

But the situation in post-war Iraq will be at the forefront of Tony Blair's mind when he meets his French and German counterparts in Berlin on Saturday.

The Times believes the meeting could be an opportunity for Tony Blair to redeem himself.

It says the kaleidoscope of global alliances is shifting.

Chancellor Schroeder may be close to accepting some kind of reconciliation with Washington, and Russia and China are ready to "do a deal" at the UN to allow the introduction of international peacekeepers.

Macca fracas

The Times reports that health officials are drawing up plans to regulate the alternative medicine industry.

The new rules would force herbalists and other practitioners to pass minimal training standards.

The move is part of efforts to boost public confidence in complementary therapies and root out bogus health workers.

The Sun and the Star report that Sir Paul McCartney was involved in a confrontation with a photographer near Tower Bridge in London.

Police are investigating allegations that he pushed the photographer in the chest as tried to get a good view of the magician David Blaine, who is attempting to live in a transparent box without food for 44 days.

Senora Beckham

The Daily Mail reports on another epic test of endurance - that of the millionaire pop singer living in Madrid with her football star husband.

It appears that Victoria Beckham has no intention of being a "senora" and cannot stand living in Spain.

The paper quotes a friend as saying "she can't speak the language, she doesn't like the food, and she doesn't like the fact that everyone stays up so late".

The Mail suggests that Madrid may not be the best place for Posh Spice to rekindle her pop career.