WHAT neat irony!

For just as the Tory Party admits its strategy so far has "failed to land punches" on Tony Blair and reaches for a new tactic, Labour's Left-wing begins to make trouble for their leader - claiming his programme is not radical enough.

And adding gloss to this fascinating departure is the fact that the Conservatives, dropping the claim that Mr Blair is but a mask for Old Labour socialism, now concede that he has radically reformed the party.

They believe that this change is so dangerous that last night, following the new battle plan, one minister was claiming Labour could even cause civil war in Britain!

More odd still, in the light of the Tory strategists' belief that their old tack was not working, is the fact that the party's rating has been going up - so that, for instance, in Scotland today a poll shows the Conservatives' standing at a 16-month high.

But, then, politics is a funny business.

However, a neutral observer might conclude that, if the Tories think Mr Blair has been winning so far, and the Labour Left think he's embarking on a losing programme, then he might just have the balance right - especially in terms of appeal to the moderate floating voter.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.