TONY BLAIR is a middle-aged man in a hurry: not in a hurry to depart, but to be active and busy.

At his news conference yesterday, he was impatient, dismissive of criticism. Long gone was the cautious, focus-group politician of his first term. Instead, it was the “change maker”, as he said in Brighton a fortnight ago. Woe betide any minister who says, “Hold on, Prime Minister, are you sure?” He is not only sure. He is driven.

On terrorism, Mr Blair was uncompromising, even firmer than Charles Clarke earlier in the morning at the Home Affairs Committee about the proposed new powers to hold suspected terrorists for three months (subject to weekly review by a judge).

Similarly, he promised new powers for the police to combat antisocial behaviour and to reclaim communities from hooliganism, thuggery and drug dealing.

“I want us to give a clear signal. This is what I have said to the police, ‘You tell me what you need in terms of antisocial behaviour, and I will deliver it for you’.” He also pledged proposals on organised crime which some will find “rather difficult”.

Mr Blair is right to highlight these problems, which are genuine and real. Civil libertarians are sometimes not sufficiently concerned with the threat from terrorism or, for that matter, thuggery, and what Mr Blair called “the one basic civil liberty, which is the right to live of our citizens and freedom from terrorism”.

Yet his tone can be deliberately confrontational. There is a real danger not just of bad feeling and hard words between the senior judiciary and the Government, but also of conflict over rulings.

Mr Blair was also impatient over public services. Before next week’s schools White Paper, he said: “We can either soft-pedal these changes and hope to see some further improvement, but incrementally. Or we can seize the moment and drive through lasting, radical, reform, that will cement the renewal or our state education system.” So he talked of “accelerating” change towards independent, non-fee-paying state schools.

So it is going to be a potentially controversial as well as a busy session.

But underlying this impatience is Mr Blair’s personal timetable. He has said he wants to serve a full third term, but not fight the next election.

The latest Populus poll for The Times, undertaken last weekend, shows that 45 per cent of all voters, including 30 per cent of Labour supporters (up 6 points since July), now want Mr Blair to stand down either now or by the end of next year.

That is the view of nearly a half of men and of professionals and managers. Less than a quarter of all voters (23 per cent), and 27 per cent of Labour ones, back his stated aim of standing down shortly before the next election.

This pressure is more likely to increase, rather than diminish. There has been a drop in the numbers wnating him to reconsider his decision to stand down and stay on longer: 24 per cent of all voters (down 6 points since July), but still 41 per cent of Labour voters (down 7 points).

Yesterday’s news conference shows that the Prime Minister has no intention of going soon.However, he cannot entirely control the timing of his departure.

Sir Gus has time on side for now

SIR GUS O’DONNELL has been creating a favourable impression since he took over last month as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service.

Helped by his youthful appearance, he seems of a younger generation than his predecessors, less Sir Humphrey and more a classless ordinary bloke, despite all his time at the top.

He has been visiting job centres and courts to show that he is concerned with the four out of five civil servants working outside Whitehall.

Sir Gus also talks a good game as he showed in his debut appearance at the Commons Public Administration Committee, when he announced a big review of departments’ capabilities, to examine how effective they are in handling big projects, information technology, personnel, and financial management.

Largely unnoticed, he has changed the top leadership in Whitehall with new permanent secretaries in charge of deparments employing half the Civil Service.

But charm and good intentions will give him only a few months’ honeymoon to start making his mark.

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