PM plays down Labour deputy role

Tory leader David Cameron said the contest was like a cross between "Big Brother and the Muppet show".

Mr Blair said what mattered was that in his successor, Gordon Brown, "we will have a leader who is strong".

The Tories by contrast had "a leader who bears the imprint of the last person who sat on him", said Mr Blair.

Speaking at prime minister's question time, Mr Cameron said the six deputy leadership hopefuls made the present deputy John Prescott look like "a cross between Ernie Bevin and Demosthenes" - a reference to a Greek orator.

And he said the contest - involving six candidates - showed Labour would "lurch to the left" when Tony Blair stands down later this month.

'Big picture'

He added: "In the last few weeks your ministers have told us they want to increase taxes, they want to hand power to the trade unions, and they want to end reform.

"It's time we began to think the previously unthinkable and progressively bring the rail operating companies back under public control"
Jon Cruddas, Labour deputy leadership contender

"The whole thing has been one long lurch to the left. They are even arguing about how much money you should be able to spend on a handbag.

"Now this contest is looking like a cross between Big Brother and the Muppet Show can you answer this: which one are you going to vote for?"

Mr Blair replied: "I am going to focus on the big picture, and I say this with the greatest respect to all my colleagues who are standing for the deputy leader: the leadership is the important thing.

"We will have a leader who is strong, your side has a leader who bears the imprint of the last person who sat on you."

The prime minister's question time clashes follows a new low in Labour Party membership, with more than 20,000 leaving the party in the past 18 months.

Leadership vote

Soon-to-be-published figures will show that the number of card-carrying party members fell from 198,000 to 182,000 during the course of 2006.

That trend continued in 2007, sliding to about 177,000 a month ago - well under half the 407,000 peak when Labour came to power 10 years ago.

But Labour insiders suggest the decline has slowed markedly and even bottomed out, with the party now picking up 1,000 members a week during its deputy leadership election.

Membership has crept back up to 180,000 in the last three weeks.

The figures emerged as the Labour Party posted out ballot papers for the election to its members and the more than three million trade unionists with a vote.

Railways

One of the six deputy leadership contenders, Jon Cruddas, has meanwhile called for the government to consider renationalising the railways.

In an interview with the New Statesman magazine Mr Cruddas said: "It's time we began to think the previously unthinkable and progressively bring the rail operating companies back under public control."

In a separate development, the six Labour contenders have sent out messages saying how they would best serve Britain's Muslims. following a request from the group Muslim Friends of Labour.

Harriet Harman pledges to quadruple the number of black and minority ethnic Labour politicians and repeats her admission that the Iraq war was a mistake.

In his message, Mr Cruddas says he "deeply regretted" voting for the war and places emphasis on the need to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hazel Blears and Hilary Benn say they make no apologies for removing Saddam Hussein, but acknowledge mistakes were made and say the focus should be on rebuilding Iraq.

Alan Johnson says he wants troops to be pulled out "soon" and calls for a "Labour leader's college" to identify dynamic members of the Muslim community.

Like Ms Blears and Mr Benn, he calls for a mentoring scheme for Muslim politicians.

Peter Hain refuses to "wriggle out" of responsibility for voting for the Iraq war but says there has been "too much macho posturing" on anti terrorism legislation.