Mr Tony Blair's Blackpool conference got off to an awkward start last night as left-wingers claimed four of six seats in the activists section of the party's ruling National Executive Committee.
The leadership shrugged off the embarrassment, which had been widely expected, following an acrimonious contest dogged by allegations of vote-rigging. A party spokesman said the leadership was neither surprised nor concerned by the result, which saw the Tribune editor, Mr Mark Seddon, top the poll with 75,584. Also successful was the London barrister, Ms Liz Davies, who was banned by the NEC from standing as a parliamentary candidate in last year's general election.
Mr Blair reacted to the result by urging iron discipline on his party. Speaking during his first question-and-answer session of the week, he said: "It is all about trust in the end. We have got to trust each other. It is difficult to do sometimes, particularly when there are people whose prime fear is that they are going to be betrayed - that the government is going to do something wrong." And he stressed: "You have elected a group of people who are trying to do their best for the country. But they cannot do it unless they have that support and solidarity from you."
However, the left-wing MP, Mr Ken Livingstone, said: "I think this is a very clear statement that the average Labour Party member wants the party to stay Labour and it clearly shows they do want to increase taxes and public spending and bring down interest rates."
The success of the "Grassroots Alliance", running against a pro-leadership slate, does not affect the arithmetic or the policy of the NEC, whose power has been weakened by internal reforms. The leadership decided to bring forward the result and so dispense with the embarrassment early in the week, as it sought to defuse a number of potential policy rows.
On proportional representation, and on the case for universal child benefit, ministers arrived in Blackpool insisting that "tough choices' would have to be made. The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, fuelled speculation that Labour - facing a potentially massive cabinet and party split on the issue - might break a manifesto commitment promising a referendum on electoral reform before the next general election.
Interviewed on Breakfast With Frost on BBC TV, Mr Prescott said: "I've never been a fan of proportional representation. I think the country is not very happy about it. We've said that we will have a look at it. Roy Jenkins's commission is now having a look at it."
Mr John Edmunds, the General Secretary of the GMB Union, has pulled out of a Tribune rally to be addressed tomorrow night by Mr Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president. Mr Edmunds said he had appealed to Tribune to invite Mr David Trimble and ensure a bipartisan approach but that they had refused. The Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, has also withdrawn from Tuesday's Tribune rally because of another engagement.