Blair steps up fight for his authority

By Nick Assinder BBC News Online political correspondent

You certainly can't accuse the prime minister of running scared from his critics over tuition fees.

Blair says he will win the battle over tuition fees

In line with the seriousness of the issue, he appears to be spending every waking hour meeting them face to face.

He has delivered speeches, spoken to his MPs directly and even devoted one of his monthly press conferences to addressing the issue.

On Monday, as the backbench rebellion showed some signs of flaking but none of crumbling, he spoke at another meeting of his own MPs and faced critics in the TV studio.

And no one who heard or saw him could be in any doubt about his commitment, whatever they may believe are the merits of his case.

Fees revolt

The proposals may already have been significantly watered down and he may be under attack for allegedly trying to "fix" the vote by timetabling it immediately before publication of the Hutton report.

But the prime minister has staked his leadership authority on the outcome of the vote and knows his future may well hang on the outcome.

MPs will vote on variable fees for students on 27 January

Probably the roughest ride he received was at the hands of a BBC Newsnight audience of critical students, parents and university teachers.

He confessed again that he was facing a particularly difficult time next week with both the fees revolt and the Hutton report.

But he predicted he would survive and still be prime minister at the end of next week.

Nonetheless it was clear from his manner, as well as the fact that he is committing so much time to the fees debate, that he knows he is facing his toughest week of his premiership.

Finish him off

He even joked about it - referring to the sort of newspaper headlines he has attracted - declaring: "It's going to be difficult.

"I cannot remember the last week which was my most difficult week - I think it was the week before last. They come around pretty regularly you know."

Well, maybe. But there is no doubting that next week, like no other before it, barring the Commons vote to sanction war on Iraq, has the potential to finish him off.

He did display some signs of the strains that must be affecting him.

But that was mostly through a clear irritation with interviewer Jeremy Paxman who seems to have a knack of getting under his skin.

With his audience he was forceful, passionate and unbending.

Whether his conviction will be enough to see off this rebellion and win over enough critics to save his face must remain an open question.

Even some of his friends wonder why he has chosen to go to the wall over this particular issue.

It has been suggested that, in the wake of the war and his other troubles, he is seeking an all-or-nothing, knock down fight in an attempt to finally end the sniping at his leadership and, in effect, relaunch his premiership.

He certainly appears confident that he will win through what is, almost certainly, his most difficult week ever.