Tony Blair joins Labour campaign trail
Updated on 30 April 2010
The Labour party has denied 'wheeling out' Tony Blair to rescue the party as it trails behind the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in most of today's polls.
The former prime minister made his first appearance of the election campaign in Harrow, north London.
Despite appearing tanned and relaxed, nurses who took his blood pressure during a tour of the polyclinic told him it was running slightly high.
Blair joked that the question was "is it better or worse than it used to be?".
"It's a tough job being Prime Minister - I know," he said, adding in response to a journalist's question that his successor Gordon Brown had not failed to get his message across "at all".
Brushing off claims that the election campaign had turned into a two-horse race between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, Blair said Labour would not end in third position on May 6.
"I don't believe that will happen. I think that labour has every chance of winning," he said. "But we will succeed best if the focus is on policy. That is where we are strong".
Blair, who refused to take part in televised debates during his premiership, said the debates and polls led to a focus on "who's up and who's down".
"But once you get into the final days, then I think people will really focus on the future", he said.
Praising Brown for his performance last night, Blair added: "If people actually look and listen to the substance they’ll see somebody who is completely on top of his facts."
He said the prime minister, was "completely honest", with the "energy and drive" to lead Britain forward.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said of Blair's appearance: "I think it's a measure of some desperation, wheeling out the golden oldies in the Labour Party to try to help out Gordon Brown in his hour of need."
Meanwhile, Conservative leader David Cameron took a swipe at Blair's tan, adding that his campaign appearances were "very good for the sales of Tango".
Earlier today, Labour election co-ordinator Douglas Alexander denied Blair was being "wheeled back out" in an act of desperation from the party.
Blair's return to the political front came amid fresh rows over one of his charities, the Tony Blair Governance Initiative.
A report in The Evening Standard said that Greg Hands, Tory candidate for Chelsea and Fulham, has made claims that the details the charity's supporters may have been passed on to a new website supporting the Labour party.
Earlier this month, Blair sparked controversy by abandoning the campaign trail in favour of an African safari.
His role in the campaign was then further disrupted when he was stranded in Israel amid the volcanic ash crisis.
In March, he spoke to Labour supporters in his old constituency of Sedgefield praising Brown's "experience, judgement and boldness", fuelling reports that he was to become Labour's 'secret weapon' on the campaign trail.
At the Alexandra Avenue Health and Social Care Centre today, Blair denied he was rushing to the rescue of the party.
"I'm happy to come here. In the end for me coming here, this facility is something we were talking about – the concept – five, ten years back, and here you see it.
"When you really focus on the election – the big decision for the country is: the next day after the election do we have more of this, or less?," he said.
As he turned to leave the interview, the reporter leaned forward to remove his microphone from his lapel.
Laughing off Brown's now infamous microphone gaffe made earlier this week, Blair said: "Microphone, oh yes microphone!"
