'Quiet man' comes out fighting

Tuesday, 15 July 2003 12:00 AM

The "quiet man" is no more.

Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown have been labelled the "Arthur Daleys" of British politics by the Conservative leadership.

In a speech on Tuesday at Labour's former ""factory of spin" headquarters Millbank Tower in London, Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith will compare the two with the used car dealers in the hit television series Minder.

Mr Blair and Mr Brown are trying to "con" voters, the Tory leader will say.

Mr Duncan Smith, as leader of the official opposition, has gained in popularity in recent months, though some analysts say this is because the Blair government has stumbled on the issue of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction and its handling of the "dodgy" dossiers.

Mr Duncan Smith is expected to ask: "Why cannot this government deliver the better life they promise?

"The reason is that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are the Arthur Daleys of British politics - the dodgiest of used car salesmen, trying to flog a clapped-out, broken-down model for change by slapping on a new coat of paint.

"They tried to con middle Britain into believing that their policies were conservative, and that you could have a conservative government without a Conservative Party.

"They dumped some unpopular Old Labour policies. But although the language changed, their instincts did not. They remain: to over-tax, over-regulate and under-deliver."

Mr Duncan Smith will look to exploit the apparent lack of direction and focus at the heart of New Labour: "There is a sense of drift and decay about this government which no number of relaunches will reverse.

"It has run out of steam. The prime minister is running out of friends. And the British people have had enough.

"People have seen New Labour spin give way to New Labour lies. Is it any wonder no-one believes a word they say any more?"

On Monday, the PM met with 14 centre-left world leaders to discuss how to revitalise "third way" politics, the philosophy behind New Labour.

Mr Duncan Smith, with this and the next general election in mind, is expected to say: "There should be no third chance for Tony Blair's third way."

The Tories will look to improve on their good fortune in local elections and opinion polls by focussing on the Prime Minister's credibility as a "trustworthy" leader and Labour's tax increases.

The PM was compared to the long-nosed Pinocchio in a campaign leaflet.

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