Tony Blair's last conference as Labour leader ran in a peculiar bubble of self-delusion, as delegates cheered to the rafters Blair and other ministers whose policies have dragged the party into free-fall in the opinion polls and opened the possibility of a Tory resurgence.

After 35,000 had marched through Manchester on the Saturday behind the banners of the Stop the War Coation, exposing the running sore that is Blair’s legacy, a sycophantic 9 minute standing ovation greeted Blair’s clever but unrelentingly reactionary speech pledging more of the unpalatable warfare abroad and “modernisation” and privatisation at home that have alienated voters and public sector workers in droves.

Perhaps even worse were the immediate comments, even from left wing MPs like Ian Gibson, that after such a performance maybe Blair should not be stepping aside after all.

The political collapse of much of the Labour left has seen a bizarre switch in the voting pattern at conference, replicated again this year: the rank and file party members have become more solidly and slavishly Blairite – leaving any progressive opposition to the trade union leaders and their block votes.

This first became apparent a few years ago when constituency delegates began voting consistently with ministers and against Labour’s historic commitment to restore the link between the state pension and average earnings that was so damagingly broken by Margaret Thatcher.

This year it took the form of a majority of constituency delegates voting against a resolution calling for a big increase in government spending on council housing, which was carried on the strength of trade union votes.

Perhaps even more grotesque than local party members shooting themselves in the foot for the next round of council elections was the astonishing 62% vote of constituency delegates to oppose the far from radical trade union motion calling on Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt to “rethink the headlong rush to a competitive system” in the NHS.

This motion, moved by UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis (who was rudely interrupted and cut off by the conference chair for over-running his time) secured 87% of the trade union votes, and was therefore carried.

Of course we know that conference resolutions make little or no impact on New Labour policy: but they are a litmus test of the shifting politics of a party.

And in this instance the curious never-world of Labour conference gives us an insight into the crisis of leadership confronting the working class.

The trade unions were the prime movers in forming the Labour Party, and its bureaucratic leaders were for many decades the conservative bedrock of Labour leaders, a block vote to be wheeled out to crush the constituency left and add weight to the reactionary rightward swing of “new realism” under Neil Kinnock and more recently Tony Blair’s “New Labour”.

But Blair’s dominance has combined with New Labour control-freakery to exploit the appalling political weakness and cowardice of many one-time “left” MPs: and at the same time Blair’s alliance with George Bush and reactionary policies on law and order, asylum and public services has served to drive out many of New Labour’s more progressive and left wing members, leaving a rump of Blairite opportunists.

The disappearance of much of the Labour left puts the trade unions in the curious position of leading the challenge to New Labour, while union leaders like Prentis, and Amicus boss Derek Simpson have been bending over backwards to avoid any real confrontation or showdown with the Labour Party.

So while a clutch of tokenistic critical motions have been pushed through Labour conference, the unions have done next to nothing to fight the government’s electorally unpopular policies on the ground.

UNISON representatives have been arguing in joint meetings with other public sector unions that there was no point in protest marches or strikes: the only strategy worth adopting would be to lobby Gordon Brown, the next Labour leader, for a change of policy!

We have seen the local government pensions fight sold out in a desperate attempt to stem a tide of anger against the government: and UNISON sat back and watched over 20,000 jobs and countless local services axed before finally agreeing to join with the TUC and other health unions in a lobby of parliament on November 1.

Perhaps the most cynical example of tokenism this year was UNISON’s sick manoeuvre of calling a strike ballot to oppose the privatisation of NHS Logistics only AFTER the contract had been signed, then calling just two one-day strikes, arguing that their main challenge would be to seek a judicial review, then dropping the legal action …and informing ministers in advance that they would only stage two strikes before surrendering.

NHS Logistics staff have sacrificed two days pay – but nothing could have been gained … other than helping Prentis cling more tightly to the coat-tails of Gordon Brown.

Prentis was among the first to welcome Brown’s speech at the Manchester conference, making it quite clear that if he gets his way UNISON’s support will be thrown behind the right wing privatising Brown rather than back the principled left wing challenge of John McDonnell, who supports UNISON’s policies.

The same seems to go for most other leaders of the biggest unions, despite polls indicating that a majority of TUC Conference delegates this year would support McDonnell against Brown.

The media of course have been keen to build up the impression of some form of policy difference between Blair and Brown: this has been a difficult task considering that they share a total commitment to neo-liberal policies, market-style reforms of public services, and a foreign policy based on tail-ending the USA.

Other than the fact they cordially hate each other as individuals there is no policy issue of substance that divides them: nor has Brown shown any more favourable attitude to the unions.

Despite talk of an “anyone but Brown” candidate being groomed by the Blair camp to step in as a challenger when Blair finally decides to trigger the leadership election, many challengers will be reluctant to incur the potential wrath of Brown if they stand and lose.

Alan Johnson, David Milliband and Alan Milburn have been touted as potential rivals – but only John Reid appears to be sufficiently distant from Brown to feel he may have nothing to lose in offering himself as one bullying right wing Scot against another.

Outside the bubble of the Manchester conference, David Cameron was rubbing his hands in glee, having seen the Tories overtake New Labour on health policy in the opinion polls for the first time ever, and hardly believing his luck as his opponents dig in for another round of the same unpopular policies.

Cuts in the NHS are offering easy pickings for local Tory councillors and MPs – but also for the fascist filth of the BNP, which has latched on to many of the local campaigns, and even come out against privatisation as it cashes in on Hewitt’s unpopularity.

Union leaders like Prentis and Simpson, who have seen loyalty to the Labour Party as buttoning their lip, conceding to ministers, seeking back-door deals, and limiting any mobilisation of their members, have compounded the problem.

There are signs that their unions are now paying the price with members leaving in disgust at continued political fund support for the government that is kicking them so comprehensively in the teeth.

It is in this context that Respect, which is organising its own conference tgis month a major trade union conference of November 11, has an urgent need to raise its profile.

It must present itself as a serious and combative alternative for union activists, campaigners and all those who can see that replacing Blair with Brown will bring no answers or relief.