Letter From London: Labour's Love Lost

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What will he leave behind? Beyond spurring Britain's remarkable economic performance, Blair led Labour's rise from a rump to a three-term party of government that boosted investment and raised standards in schools and hospitals. But Blair's political skill will complicate his party's future because it has motivated the opposition to copy New Labour's popular centrist policies. After years in the wilderness, the rival Tories have rallied behind Cameron, 39, who is stressing ecology, international development and the promotion of women and ethnic minorities instead of old Tory standards like immigrant bashing and tax cutting. A recent survey shows the Tories would beat Labour if a general election were held now, 37% to 31%. "Blair's legacy is also Cameron's Conservatives," says Sunder Katwala, general secretary of the Labour-affiliated Fabian Society. "The Tories' shift is really New Labour's moment of victory."

If so, it's a victory that must be carefully tended to avoid defeat. Now that it faces a breathing opposition, Labour has to resolve the internal ambiguities that Blair was able to blur, like the tension between cutting poverty and cutting taxes. The good news for Labour is that it has a crop of competent young Ministers who want to try. The ultimate test for Blair's legacy is whether Labour can prosper without him. Britain may find out soon.