GORDON BROWN was facing a backlash from Blairites this weekend for failing to set out an inspiring “vision” for new Labour and an “empty” conference speech.

With the Tories rampant after the prime minister’s decision not to call an autumn election, friends of Tony Blair disclosed he was “unhappy” with the direction in which Brown was taking the party.

Blair, who has been in the Middle East in his new role as a peace envoy, was said to feel Brown’s speech to the Labour conference was “empty” and to be “concerned about what new Labour stands for”.

“Tony feels Gordon should be defending new Labour,” said one confidante of the former prime minister. “But the trouble is that when he talks of change, it sounds like he means a break with the past and new Labour.

Gordon Brown's Black Wednesday

The Northern Rock disaster has torn away any remaining credibility the Prime Minister had

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“Brown is defining himself not against Cameron but against Blair. One of the unstated reasons why the ‘young turks’ around Gordon wanted an early election was because they wanted a break with Blair.”

Other Blair allies are complaining about Brown’s “lack of vision”, with the government appearing to borrow policies from the Conservatives. “Labour has allowed there to be a policy vacuum,” said a former cabinet minister. “We’re not just policy lite; we are policy free.”

Another Blair ally said after last week’s prebudget report, in which Alistair Darling, the chancellor, “stole” Tory ideas for raising the inheritance tax threshold and clamping down on nondomiciled taxpayers, there was now a “lack of coherent narrative”. “We can’t go around just nicking ideas,” he said.

Lord Falconer, a Blairite who left the cabinet when Brown took over in June, today launches a thinly veiled attack on the prime minister, warning that an inspiring vision needs to be “spelt out”. He said Brown’s experience and management of crises was not enough to win the next general election.

“Making clear our vision is the challenge for the Labour party now,” he writes in an article for The Sunday Times online. “Because if we rely on experience and our ability to handle crises and do not set out, in the coming months, our vision for the future of the UK, a vision which represents the progressive view of politics, then we will be offering drift not leadership, and the past not the future.”

He warns Brown that “steady as she goes” is not an option.

“Renewal does not come from a change of leadership alone. And political leadership requires not just an ability to deal with the present. It also requires the ability to convince the public you lead that your vision of the future is one they share.” John Prescott was overheard warning members of Brown’s “kitchen cabinet”, including Douglas Alexander, the election co-ordinator: “For f***’s sake, get your head out of the polls.”

Yesterday the Conservatives accused the government of again stealing their policies after a Treasury minister signalled a shift towards promoting marriage in the tax system.

Brown was also attacked by Jonathon Porritt, his environmental adviser, for failing to show enough leadership on tackling climate change. He accused Brown of making “soaring” speeches, but failing to match his words with deeds.

Brown faces a further battle with the Tories ahead of next week’s European Union summit in Lisbon. Yesterday Cameron wrote to Brown reasserting Tory demands for a referendum on the new treaty, which the party claims is virtually identical to the failed EU constitution.

Meanwhile, Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat leader, was facing internal dissent. One senior party figure warned he would be “gone by Christmas” unless there was a dramatic turnaround in the Lib Dems’ fortunes. Tomorrow Campbell meets his party executive, some of whom have been privately critical of him.

GORDON BROWN was facing a backlash from Blairites this weekend for failing to set out an inspiring “vision” for new Labour and an “empty” conference speech.

With the Tories rampant after the prime minister’s decision not to call an autumn election, friends of Tony Blair disclosed that he was “unhappy” with the direction in which Brown was taking the party.

Blair, who has been in the Middle East in his new role as a peace envoy, was said to feel Brown’s speech to the Labour conference was “empty” and to be “concerned about what new Labour stands for”.

“Tony feels Gordon should be defending new Labour,” said one confidant of the former prime minister. “But the trouble is that when he talks of change, it sounds like he means a break with the past and new Labour.

“Brown is defining himself not against [David] Cameron but against Blair. One of the unstated reasons why the ‘young turks’ around Gordon wanted an early election was because they wanted a break with Blair.”

Brown faces further bad news today with a poll showing that support for the Tories is at its highest level for 15 years. The ICM survey for The Sunday Telegraph puts the Conservatives on 43%, seven points clear of Labour on 36%, with the Liberal Democrats trailing on 14%.

Some Blair allies are complaining about Brown’s “lack of vision”, with the government appearing to borrow policies from the Conservatives. “Labour has allowed there to be a policy vacuum,” said a former cabinet minister. “We’re not just policy lite; we are policy free.”

Another Blair ally said after last week’s prebudget report, in which Alistair Darling, the chancellor, “stole” Tory ideas for raising the inheritance tax threshold and clamping down on nondomiciled taxpayers, there was now a “lack of coherent narrative”. He added: “We can’t go around just nicking ideas.”

Lord Falconer, a Blairite who left the cabinet when Brown took over in June, today launches a thinly veiled attack on the prime minister, warning that an inspiring vision needs to be “spelt out”. He says Brown’s experience and management of crises were not enough to win the next election. “Making clear our vision is the challenge for the Labour party now,” he writes in an article for TimesOnline.

“Because if we rely on experience and our ability to handle crises and do not set out our vision for the future of the UK, then we will be offering drift not leadership, and the past not the future.”

One former minister close to Blair compared Brown’s mistakes in distancing himself from his former boss to those of Al Gore, the former American vice-president defeated by George Bush for the presidency in 2000. He said: “Tony believes Gordon has gone much too far in trying to distance himself from new Labour’s 10 years in office. It is where Gore went wrong.”

Yesterday the Tories again accused the government of stealing policies after a Treasury minister signalled a shift towards promoting marriage in the tax system. Brown was also attacked by Jonathon Porritt, his environmen-tal adviser, for failing to show leadership on tackling climate change. Porritt accused the prime minister of making “soaring” speeches but failing to match words with deeds.

It was reported last night that three former ministers – Stephen Byers, Charles Clarke and Alan Milburn – are planning a series of media appearances and speeches to point out where Brown is going wrong.

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