Backstage at the Mermaid theatre in London, Tony Blair was rallying his troops before facing the audience. It was Wednesday morning and the prime minister was about to unveil Labour’s manifesto.

As the prime minister finished his pep talk Jack Straw, an ally of Gordon Brown, the chancellor, piped up. “What should we say if we are asked whether the manifesto is ‘unremittingly new Labour’?” he asked, appearing to mock Downing Street’s buzz words of the moment.

Blair gave Straw a withering look and stalked off without replying. “We all looked at our feet in embarrassment and wanted the floor to open and swallow us,” said one of those who was present.

In the overall scheme of Labour’s election campaign, the incident was minor but illuminating: behind the scenes deep tensions persist between Blairites and Brownites. Blair may have said that he will serve a full third term, but Brown is more powerful than ever.

A united front, however, was what mattered that morning and Alastair Campbell was back marshalling ministers. All those allocated to the front row were ordered to wear red ties, forcing John Reid to borrow one hastily from an aide.

Giving the image of a confident government at ease with itself, the cabinet trooped on stage, with Blair and Brown side by side in the centre, stroking each other’s pet policies and swapping compliments. Throughout last week the Blair-Brown combo was to the fore at press conferences, photo opportunites and in the party’s first election television broadcast. At first it seemed to work. By mid-week Labour had opened up its poll lead to six points.

That lead was fragile. When it emerged that a terrorist who had murdered a policeman and plotted ricin attacks was a failed asylum seeker, the Tories made progress again. Labour’s laxity on immigration, claimed the Tories, posed a danger to national security. Voters seemed to agree.

Nor did they like the collapse of MG Rover in Birmingham which, with the loss of 5,000 jobs and a threat to many more, tarnished Labour’s claims to economic competence. Blair and Brown rushed to offer £150m for retraining.

By the end of the week Labour’s lead was slipping yet again. Many voters, away from the micro-managed public appearances and soft-lob questions, remained angry or apathetic about both main parties. “If I had an egg, I’d throw it,” said Asif Bhatti, 36, an accountant who was at Canary Wharf, east London, when Blair paid a visit.

Although he voted Labour last time, he said: “I’m passionately opposed to Blair. Firstly, his stance on the war; he blatantly misled people. He’s never apologised.

“They’ve introduced tuition fees when they said they would not, so why should I believe anything they say? “Labour goes on about taxation, saying they are not going to increase it, but that’s bullshit. National Insurance is a tax. Labour talk a good talk, but I’ve not seen anything change. I’ve voted Labour all my life. This time I’m voting Tory.”

For Rod Smith, however, Michael Howard and the Conservatives are no answer. “There’s no point voting,” said the 34-year-old IT helpdesk worker. “They’re all as bad as each other.”

FOR months before the election Brown was “sulking”, say Downing Street insiders, after Alan Milburn was brought in to oversee Labour’s campaign. As it faltered, Blair, through Campbell, struck a deal with Brown.

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