Mr Ken Livingstone and Mr Blair appeared on a collision course last night as the left-wing MP declared his belief that he could still be the official Labour candidate for London Mayor. Downing Street had earlier held open the possibility of further talks, as the leadership battled to prevent Mr Livingstone breaking with the party to run as an independent.
However, hopes of any agreement further dimmed when Mr Livingstone declared he would give the party time to "sort out the mess" following the controversial selection process, adding: "I'm just waiting for Frank [Dobson] to stand down. I'm expecting to be the Labour candidate."
And Mr Livingstone indicated that Mr Blair's London nightmare could have some time to run, suggesting "the Labour party is going to take a week or two to finally work out what on earth it is going to do to sort this mess out". That brought an instant rebuke from a party spokesman who insisted: "Ken Livingstone is deluding himself if he thinks that he is going to be Labour's candidate for mayor. Frank Dobson is and will remain so."
The spokesman continued: "The Labour party does not need a week or even two to sort out its position - we have a candidate. The person who has to sort out the mess is Ken. He has to decide whether to stay in the party and back Frank Dobson, or walk away of his own free will and run as an independent."
Raising speculation about his intentions, Mr Livingstone said: "I don't want to turn my back on the party I have given my entire life to. If I can find a way through this impasse I will do so. But I am determined that Londoners will have the chance to vote for the people they want, not the people the party bureaucrats decide."
Insisting many did not accept the nomination was resolved, Mr Livingstone said he had been told Labour headquarters had received 23,000 telephone calls in protest at the selection outcome and was "still counting" the resulting resignations from the party.
As the guessing game continued, the Tory candidate for mayor, Mr Steve Norris, said it was time for Mr Livingstone to make up his mind. "He says he was robbed of his party's nomination, and I agree with him," he said. "He says he spends every waking moment thinking about London, but right now it seems he spends every waking moment talking about Ken Livingstone. Choose now, Ken. Would you rather talk about yourself or London? The job on offer is London Mayor, not London martyr. Resign your seat and get on with the race, or get on and support your party's hapless official candidate."
The British government yesterday bowed to the House of Lords and agreed to allow free mailshots for London mayoral candidates.
The Lords voted by 206-143 last week to reject government rules for the ballot. Peers were upset by the government's refusal to grant candidates free mailshots to London's five million voters. The government had said the cost, running to millions of pounds, was prohibitive. It is still working out the details about how to make the scheme affordable. --(Reuters)