For all the fever of speculation in Westminster last week, how Tony Blair intends to use the time remaining to him as prime minister is more interesting than ill-informed gossip about his retirement plans. There is always the possibility that Mr Blair might one day decide to chuck it in for personal or family reasons, but those who work most closely with him insist that what dominates his thoughts is not the timing of his exit, but the problem of renewal. In particular, how a government that will have been in office for eight years at the time of the next election can persuade voters that it has not run out of steam.
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