British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his back to the wall after a drop in his Labour Party’s popularity, is taking advice from his predecessor Tony Blair despite their old rivalry, said Blair’s wife.In interviews with two newspapers published on Saturday, Cherie Blair said Brown was “rattling the keys” over her husband’s head when he suffered a crisis of confidence in April 2004 over his decision to take Britain to war with Iraq. “I thought he was putting too much pressure on Tony to quit when Tony wasn’t ready,” she told the Sun.
Brown took over in June 2007 after a tempestuous 10-year relationship with Blair during which he ran BritainÂ’s finances as Chancellor of the Exchequer. But unpopular income tax reform, rising fuel and food prices, a downturn in the housing market and an image problem led to big losses in local elections that have cast doubt on BrownÂ’s leadership.