Analysis: Blair ducks war vote

By Nick Assinder BBC News Online political correspondent

There is a sharp irony in the fact that arch-moderniser Tony Blair has been saved from a major conference embarrassment by the union block vote.

Thanks to the combined might of four of the largest trades unions, the prime minister will not face a debate, let alone a vote, on the war.

And it appears there was some traditional old-Labour manoeuvring behind the scenes to ensure this outcome.

That is not necessarily to suggest the unions swung behind the prime minister to save his face - more a case of them ensuring they represented the concerns of their members over workers right, pensions and so on.

There was also a suggestion that the constituency parties, who were pressing for a debate on Iraq, failed to get their act together.

Pressure valve

Whatever the reason for the decision, however, the prime minister will be delighted that he will not now have to watch angry delegates tearing into him over the war.

But this is a double edged sword. It may well avoid embarrassing scenes inside the conference hall.

However, it has only served to further inflame the fury of the anti-war movement who are claiming that the prime minister is trying to shut down all dissent.

And that could still prove dangerous. Instead of the conference acting as a pressure valve allowing delegates to blow off steam, that pressure will simply continue to build up.

That fear may still be enough to ensure the leadership finds a way of allowing some sort of lower-level debate on the war, and there is still the fringe where it is a major feature.

But, for the time being at least, the prime minister can breath a qualified sigh of relief.