THE PEOPLE'S MARCH: Not enough

TONY Blair gambled his political future yesterday as he appealed for support for a moral crusade against Saddam Hussein.

Although he declared that removing the Iraqi dictator from power was as important as stopping Adolf Hitler in the 1930s he received only a lukewarm response from Labour members in Glasgow.

Looking nervous and edgy, he delivered a grim warning that the cost of failing to oust the dictator would be "paid in blood" on the streets of Bagdhad as Saddam continued to murder his own people.

Delegates had been forced to hurriedly take their seats as the PM arrived early at the city's conference hall to dodge protesters.

As he spoke, nearly 1,000 police, include many armed with guns, mounted officers and dog handlers patrolled outside.

And his evangelical-style 47-minute "sermon" about his fight against the evils of Saddam was directed not so much at the delegates as at the 25,000 marchers on the anti-war protests in Glasgow - and the millions across the world.

He attempted to reassure them that any plans for immediate strikes on Iraq were on hold as United Nations inspections chief Hans Blix had been given more time to search for weapons of mass destruction.

Dr Blix will now report to the UN on February 28 amid mounting impatience from US president George Bush. Significantly, an uncharacteristically twitchy Mr Blair made just one mention of the US president in his speech.

He switched his focus from efforts to find evidence of Iraq's arsenal of weapons of mass destruction to the humanitarian case against the Iraqi dictator.

He insisted: "The moral case against war has a moral answer: It is the moral case for removing Saddam."

In a speech Downing Street spin-doctors were last night trying to paint as one of the most courageous of his career, Mr Blair warned of what he called the dangerous consequences of the Stop The War marches.

He claimed he shared their sense of moral duty. But he added: "Ridding the world of Saddam would be an act of humanity. It is leaving him there that is inhumane.

"If we remove Saddam by force, people will die - and some will be innocent. If I did not insist on disarmament, yes, there would be no war. But there would still be Saddam."

Stressing the brutality of the dictator's regime, Mr Blair said: "There will be no march for the victims of Saddam, no protests about the thousands of children that die needlessly every year under his rule. If the result of peace or an absence of conflict is Saddam staying in power, not disarmed, then I tell you there are consequences paid in blood for that decision."

His words were greeted with polite but restrained applause in the hall - which was only a third full, with about 1,000 Labour activists. Many delegates had preferred to join the marchers outside.

Mr Blair claimed he was prepared to risk losing the backing of large sections of the public over his support for action against Iraq. He said: "I do not seek unpopularity as a badge of honour. But sometimes it is the price of leadership and the cost of conviction."

Mr Blair also appeared to hint for the first time that his stance on Iraq could cost the Government dearly as Labour members and voters turn their back on the party.

He said: "This is the testing time, the difficult time. But if you come through it, the price is not just about a Government able to carry on, it's far more important than that. It's a sign we will have changed politics for good."

In a cynical stunt, Mr Blair's spin-doctors used a 19-year-old Iraqi exile, Rania Kashi, now studying at Cambridge University, to bolster their flagging case for war. Mr Blair quoted from an email she sent him about the evils of Saddam's regime - and his officials later distributed copies of the email in their battle to win over delegates.

But the speech brought an unconvinced reaction from many delegates and union leaders.

GMB general secretary John Edmonds said: "British people want to see the United Nations dealing with this - not soldiers marching into Iraq with the stars and stripes."

VERDICT

By CHRIS McLAUGHLIN Political Editor

IT WAS a familiar performance. The message from Tony Blair to Labour members in Glasgow and the nation was a characteristic "trust me".

By the time he left the hall with only a short, dutiful standing ovation from delegates behind him, he could not be sure they would.

It was the most important speech of his premiership. And it may well turn out to mark a turning point in it.

Mr Blair had a mammoth task: To convince a sceptical party and public that it is right to drag Britain into a war on the coat tails of the United States. He failed. The theatrical tricks were there. TheTheatrical tricks did him no good sombre tone, the compassionate look when admitting that innocents would be killed, the personal plea to be understood, the pleading hand gestures.

But the substance was missing.

With no clear evidence of Saddam's stockpile of weapons of mass destruction to back up the case for war, Mr Blair decided instead to move not just the goalposts, but the whole playing field.

Military action against Saddam is now a moral issue. In a message to the marchers he said: "I do not seek unpopularity as a badge of honour. But sometimes it is the price of leadership and the cost of conviction."

His remarks could well turn out to be prophetic...

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