Young Blair recedes into the past

Are the trials and burdens of office starting to take their toll on the Prime Minister? These pictures taken on March, just before the election, and on Saturday, show that the last nine months have been long and hard for Tony Blair

He is looking older and greyer and a new haircut has not helped. The youthful look, which voters were said to have found so engaging, appears to be waning. It could be said, of course, that Mr Blair has acquired the gravitas befitting an international statesman. But others, including some Labour MPs, say he is looking tired after a full and sometimes troublseome political calendar.

The quiff is pruned, showing signs of recession on the forehead, and the trimmed sides reveal touches of grey. Particularly noticeable at Question Time is a "helicopter pad" of bald patch on the crown.

Mr Blair's image and the fortunes of his hair, in particular, has been been closely charted by the media, and in turn monitored by Labour's spin doctors. At the party conference in Blackpool last year, one aide saw the leader's tresses flying in the air and frantically sent a pager message to a colleague "Do something about the hair".

Two months later, the Financial Times incurred Millbank's wrath after claims that the then Leader of the Opposition had been smoothing down his bouffant hair to raise his appeal with female voters.

Party spokespeople condemned the report as "pathetic and untrue". Mr Blair's own response was "My problem is not changing my hair, it's keeping it".

What do the Tories make of Mr Blair's current image? One of John Major's former aides said: " I am not surprised he looks tired with all the interesting questions being asked about Geoffrey Robinson, and social security benefits, and Formula One and smoking.

"But when it comes to hair we are on dodgy grounds. John Major could have taken Blair on easily , but William Hague does suffer deeply himself in the follically-challenged department".