THE threat of a double defeat hung over Tony Blair today as Labour launched its triumphal conference following it's landslide election victory.

As the party prepared to celebrate its first seaside gathering in government for 19 years, the Prime Minister's aides were working flat out to avoid two embarassing snubs from the conference floor.

Hopes were high that controversial reforms to Labour's policy making machinery to reduce the power of conference would get through with union support. But the prospect of a damaging defeat over the plan to charge university students £1,000 in tuition fees on Wednesday was very real.

A huge demonstration by students, Left wingers and trade unionists yesterday underlined the strength of opposition to the move. Opponents of the move plan to quote Foreign Secretary Robin Cook during the debate from an interview to Leeds Student Radio on April 24 when he said: "We are quite clear that tuition costs must be met by the state."

One senior source confessed that the final vote was balanced on a knife-edge and predicted a very bitter debate despite plans by Mr Blair and Education and Employment Secretary David Blunkett to sweeten the bill with announcements of extra cash for schools, including £100 million for buildings.

The proposal to replace the power of conference with a rolling programme of policy making is set to cause bitter debate but unlikely in the end to lead to defeat.

But victory could come at a cost as Electrical and Engineering Union boss Ken Jackson warned that trade union cash for Labour could dry up as their influence over policy making through conference was cut.

And Mr Blair's chief spin doctor - Minister without Portfolio Peter Mandelson - may fail in his bid to join the party's ruling National Executive as activists launch a backlash against the leadership over the changes.

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