Labour grass roots threaten to deselect MPs who support war in Iraq

Tony Blair has been hit by a deepening grassroots Labour revolt over his hawkish stance on Iraq, with some constituency parties threatening to deselect pro-war MPs.

The Prime Minister faces a hostile reception when he addresses Labour's spring conference in Glasgow at the weekend. The deep anxiety of ordinary Labour members will also surface at the national policy forum meeting in Southport at the end of the month. Scores of motions have been tabled by constituencies that are threatening protest action.

One local party has passed a motion warning headquarters in London that it will refuse to raise funds for the party or campaign for the local elections in May. Such a rebellion would breach Labour's rulebook and could lead to the constituency party being suspended.

The constituency party, which has not been named by Labour HQ, has put the national party "on notice" that its boycott will continue until the Government agrees that military action against Iraq would not be taken in the absence of an explicit UN resolution.

Labour sources said yesterday that such strong feelings were not isolated. One said: "Every sitting Labour MP is up for reselection between now and September and, though few constituency Labour parties will take the road of mutually assured destruction unless their MP is completely inadequate, it is the only way in which many members can express their disquiet."

Grassroots activists are also warning that Mr Blair's strong support for George Bush is harming Labour at the ballot box. Labour came third in a recent council by-election in Basingstoke, its number one target for making a gain in the South-east at the next election. Five trade union leaders warned yesterday that a war in Iraq could result in industrial action. Paul Mackney, of the lecturers' union Natfhe, said: "Unless Blair changes course Blair will fall on this."

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT union, compared the anti-war movement to the Romanian revolution, which ended with the execution of Nicolae Ceausescu. "Look what happened in Eastern Europe when people didn't listen," he said.

* Labour's lead over the Conservatives has fallen to only one point, according to a poll today that shows public confidence in Tony Blair has been hit by his handling of the Iraq crisis. The poll for The Times puts Labour on 35 per cent, two points down since last month. The Tories are up two points on 34 per cent, their highest rating since the fuel protests of September 2000.