He told BBC Radio 4: "He can't survive if he only carries the White Paper and the Bill that follows on Conservative votes. He also warned the rebels they could fatally damage Labour's electoral prospects by defeating the reforms. "It's become a test of Labour's willingness to carry on as a reforming government," he said. "It [defeat] would be a huge self-inflicted wound that would have potentially fatal consequences not for Tony Blair personally, but for the Labour Party collectively."Lord Hattersley, a former Labour deputy leader, warned Mr Blair not to rely on the votes of Tory MPs to secure the reforms. But he also warned the rebel MPs that Labour was facing a "seminal moment".Alan Milburn, a Blairite former cabinet minister, called for "give and take" from both sides and appealed to the Government to give ground over the admissions code and the role of local education authorities.
And whether it is a year or two years, it actually will be a sensible process of combining the talents that we have," he said.Mr Blunkett appealed for compromise from both sides in the battle between Mr Blair and the 100 Labour MPs who oppose the schools White Paper published last October, insisting there was "a real possibility" of a deal.He urged Mr Blair to toughen the school admissions code to force schools to take it into account. He does not want selection in schools but he needs to reassure our MPs about that."David Blunkett, the former cabinet minister and a Blair ally, provoked a new flurry of speculation about Mr Blair's future yesterday by predicting he would be succeeded by Gordon Brown in one or two years - a shorter timescale than the full term envisaged by the Prime Minister.Mr Blunkett told the BBC's Sunday AM programme that he sensed "a new understanding" between Mr Blair and Mr Brown about the handover "So good on them. Some ministers and MPs close to the Prime Minister are worried that his determination to secure his schools shake-up before he stands down could lead him to adopt a reckless approach to the schools Bill, which will be published next month. They are urging him not to repeat the brinkmanship which led to his Commons defeat last November over plans to allow suspected terrorists to be detained for up to 90 days without charge, after which he declared: "Sometimes it's better to lose doing the right thing than to win doing the wrong thing."One Blair ally said: "Tony has got to move this time There is a trust problem. We need to nurture them.Alan Yentob is creative director of the BBC He presents 'Imagine... a funny thing happened on the way to the studio' on BBC1, 10.35pm tomorrow.
Close allies of Tony Blair are urging him to back down over key elements of his education reforms to avoid a humiliating Commons vote that could end his premiership. But there's a lot of talent and ideas out there - and very little cynicism The seeds have been sown. This show may be about the world of information technology and computer geeks, but it's squarely aimed at a family audience: "No jokes that children won't understand," Graham says. We shall see if his aim is true.THE LAST LAUGHSo that's where we are now. Despite the whispering campaign, reports of the death of the sitcom have been greatly exaggerated. Yes, there's a dearth of big-hitting shows in the prime-time schedules.
And surprise, surprise; it's on Channel 4 and produced by The Office's Ash Atalla (see interview, page 12). He's a real believer; so much so that he chooses not only to write but also to direct his latest show in the unfashionable environment of a TV studio with invited audience. BACK TO THE FUTUREThe IT CrowdJust when you might think the traditional studio sitcom is "like, so last-century", along comes Graham Linehan, co-creator of Father Ted and Black Books. Not only do the politicians and their advisers make it up as they go along; so too do the actors - the show is heavily improvised. Up to 90 minutes of material is edited into a half-hour episode (classic sitcom length), and the compression gives an uncanny sense of life rushing by, and people overtaken by events Delicious.8. Every episode they make the same mistakes and it's funny every time. China's untamed landscape requires forming brands from scratch; television fits this bill by being flexible enough to forge broad-stroke equity and brand character.
