Channel 4 News

The blunt words, from the Blairite former minister Lord Falconer, came as a new poll showed the Conservatives seven points in front - their biggest lead for 15 years. The repercussions of the Prime Minister's decision not to call a general election are clearly still being felt in Downing Street. In the summer of 1992, John Major's Conservative Party had a whopping 43 per cent poll rating. But then this happened: Britain's currency crisis - sterling fell out of the ERM, Black Wednesday. Never again did the Tories reach that opinion poll high - until today. The ICM poll puts the Tories seven points ahead of Labour. It shows a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of the party leaders. Between 16 September and 11 October Conservative support rose from 32 per cent to 43 per cent. During the same period Labour went down from 40 per cent to 36 per cent. The poll makes grim reading for the Liberal Democrats - their support fell from 20 per cent to 14 per cent. But there is some good news for Gordon Brown in this poll - in terms of leadership and the economy he is well ahead of David Cameron. The Conservatives today explained why they think the Government's in trouble. It's not just the Conservatives that are questioning the Government's direction. Today former Lord Chancellor, and Tony Blair's close friend, Charlie Falconer, has indicated he thinks the Government is in danger of drift. He wrote for the Times Online: "Renewal does not come from a change of leadership alone... if we rely on experience and our ability to handle the crises which come along and do not set out, in the coming months, our vision for the future of the UK... then we will be offering drift not leadership, and the past not the future." One report today suggested that Tony Blair has voiced concerns about Gordon Brown's leadership. But that's been strongly denied by some of Tony Blair's closest allies, and cabinet ministers have come out in support of Gordon Brown. The "vision thing", as George Bush senior called it, may be about to become even more of a problem for Gordon Brown. One report suggests former Blairite ministers may start articulating an alternative agenda to Gordon Brown's. The accompanying video report is by Zoe Conway

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