In the post-devolution era of British politics, Mr Blair is quickly discovering a simple truth: dispensing power to the regions while at the same time wishing to exert political influence from Westminster comes at a price.
It is not just the problem of selecting a Labour candidate for mayor of London or the choice of Alun Michael as party leader in the Welsh Assembly that have come knocking at Mr Blair's door during his first 1,000 days in Downing Street.
On the evidence of recent weeks, it is also the ability of the Scottish electorate, and to a large degree the Catholic Church in Scotland, to wag the tail of the Westminster dog that is causing concern.
The issue of repealing Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act, which prohibits the "promotion" of homosexuality by local councils and in state-run schools and colleges, only came to public attention in England and Wales as a consequence of devolution.
The repeal was a Labour manifesto commitment in the 1997 general election. The Act has always been seen by Labour as a particularly troublesome piece of Thatcherite legislation drafted at a time when the national debate centred on sex education books in schools such as Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin.
Legislation to repeal Section 28 was proceeding through parliament rather quietly and with little media attention until the decision in December by the former Conservative spokesman for London, Shaun Woodward, to defect to Labour.
At the time, the Conservative leader, William Hague, said the decision to sack Mr Woodward was essential to preserve party unity, after the MP had declared he could not support party policy opposing the repeal of Section 28. With the Conservatives imposing the whip on retaining the controversial section, Mr Woodward appealed to Mr Hague to draft a "reasoned amendment". The legislation, he said, prevented schools from protecting students who were being bullied because of their sexuality. But his appeal fell on deaf ears.
When the Scottish Communities Minister, Wendy Alexander, announced last October the executive's intention to repeal Section 28, she (and Mr Blair) did not anticipate the anger that would follow. The description of gays as "perverted" by the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Thomas Winning, combined with a high profile campaign in favour of Section 28 by the Scottish School Board Association, aroused an angry response from the gay rights group Outrage! Those who wish to retain Section 28 insist gay relationships must not be placed on the same moral footing as heterosexual relationships; to do so, they argue, undermines marriage and family life. Those who oppose the legislation believe gays are being bullied in school because teachers dare not risk censure if they tackle the issue of homosexuality in the classroom.
The reported intention of Mr Blair this week to offer Labour MPs a free vote on the issue is a reaction to the divisive Scottish debate and, in part, to backbench pressure by the Middlesbrough MP, Stuart Bell. A church estates commissioner as well as an MP, Mr Bell warned the Prime Minister that he would have a rebellion on his hands unless MPs were allowed to vote according to their conscience.
Mr Blair is also facing problems in the House of Lords, where defiant cross-benchers and Conservatives are squaring up to impose an embarrassing defeat of the legislation.
To add to the controversy, the Catholic Bishop of Liverpool, Dr James Jones, has declared his support for retaining Section 28, while the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, has also expressed concern on the issue. The offer of a free vote is Mr Blair's olive branch to potentially rebellious MPs.