labour s core support takes stock tony blair has told labour supporters he s  back  and still hungry for the job of prime minister - but does that sum up the mood at the party s spring conference in gateshead    the electorate are keener on the government than some labour party members   is the dry assessment of graham lane  leader of the labour group on newham council. the problem  according to mr lane  is not continuing divisions over iraq  foundation hospitals or tuition fees  or even voter apathy  but mr blair himself.  i have a new slogan. vote blair  get brown. that s what i am telling people on the doorstep. don t worry  he will be gone soon.  his friend  saxon spence  leader of devon county labour group  lays the blame for any lack of campaigning zeal on one issue above all others.  you cannot underestimate the impact of the war in iraq. we lost people from our local party who had some key roles.   but the two friends were fired up by gordon brown s speech on saturday  with its appeal to core labour values on social justice  health and education.   there was real passion. i think we have all felt a little jaded  but it reminded us why we joined the party in the first place   said mrs spence.  if he hadn t have walked off the stage  they would still be clapping   added mr lane. but for every brownite at the spring conference there was an equally ardent fan of mr blair. stephen douglas  26  from wales  said after the pm s speech on sunday:  i think it was a bit of a turning point  given the roasting he has had on some issues. the guy still has it.   tony martin  of burnley  said:  he is the first leader who has won us two terms. this bloke has delivered for us.  malcolm shipley  of shipley  said it was  as if he is coming round to the right approach again . katrina bull  a prospective parliamentary candidate said mr blair had shown he could rouse the party s grassroots:  i think if every voter was able to spend time in a room with tony  the way we have today  we will have no problem with turnout.  she had just emerged from a q&a session  in which mr blair - tieless and supremely at ease - answered questions posed via the party s website.  a party of councillors from nottingham agreed that there was nothing wrong with mr blair s leadership - and they were adamant that the campaigning strength of the party in their city was as strong as ever. iraq  they insisted  would not be a factor for most voters.  the biggest problem we have got at the moment is that we keep getting all these polls saying we are going to run away with the election.  it might sound great  but it does create this sense of complacency among our own voters and i think that is the greater problem than iraq   said nottingham city councillor brian parbutt. and even mr blair s most vocal critics seemed to agree on one thing - he is a master of the sort of glossy  high-profile campaigning that has become labour s hallmark  epitomised by friday s whistle-stop tour of marginal seats. a group of shop stewards from the swan hunter shipyard  who said they were facing redundancy  could barely suppress their anger at mr blair s failure to  as they saw it  shake off his tory leanings and stand up for manufacturing in the north east.  they were also scathing about the alleged benefits of showpiece projects such as conference venue sage centre  heralded by john prescott and others this weekend as a symbol of labour s success in urban regeneration.   it is no good having the sage or baltic if you haven t got the money for the entrance fee   said terry telford. but when asked about mr blair s bravura performance on friday  the men agreed he was  brilliant . and they would all be out on the doorstep pushing the labour message come election time.  if you are not fired up about the election  then what s the point  there is no complacency as far as i can see in the labour party. we are fired up. we are up for this election   said richie porterhouse. mr telford agreed  but added it was becoming increasingly difficult to think of an answer when people asked  what has labour done for the north east    i have had doors slammed in my face   he said.  every activist i spoke to said they were proud of what they believed labour had achieved in their local communities - the new hospitals and schools  the better life chances for young people. the problem they faced  they said  was converting this local feelgood factor into votes. but they could at least rely on one  secret weapon   as one activist put it - tory leader michael howard.