He would support Blair."There was no overt `deal' between the two, only a recognition on Brown's part that while he would win, the contest would damage Labour's chances for the future." The book suggests that the quid pro quo was a pledge by Mr Blair to consolidate Mr Brown's position as shadow chancellor - and then chancellor."He would have full charge of economic policy and a powerful influence across the range of social policy."Some of Mr Brown's party opponents - a band that has been increased by the threats he is said to be instigating against welfare benefits for the disabled and other vulnerable groups - have noted that he continues to cultivate support.One ministerial source said that he had held a Christmas party at Number 11 for Labour Party constituency secretaries, and he is said to be assiduous in maintaining an alternative power-base within the party at large.. Blair repeatedly promised Brown he would not stand against him in a leadership election."One ministerial source said Mr Brown's "overpowering ego" would eventually prove his undoing, as it had proved the undoing of Denis Healey and Nigel Lawson before him.The difference with Mr Healey, if the impending biography of the Chancellor is to be believed, is that Mr Brown has a strong powerbase within the party - something that could yet ensure his succession to Mr Blair.The first edited extract from the biography, published in today's Times, sells Mr Brown's decision to step aside from Mr Blair as an act of supreme self-sacrifice, "of doing ones duty to the party." Mr Routledge, who is a long-standing friend of Charlie Whelan, the Chancellor's trusted media man - says in the book : "Some anti-Brown campaigners were insinuating allegations about his private life. It has long been known that Mr Blair had previously agreed that he would not stand against Mr Brown, and that Mr Blair was persuaded after the premature death of John Smith that he must renege on that pact because, in the view of his supporters, he would make a better leader. But the fact that Mr Brown and his allies still nurture their grievance over the issue three years later, after Labour's landslide victory and Mr Brown's appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer, yesterday delighted his many party critics.Evidence that the sore still festers is provided in a new biography of the Chancellor, extracts of which began to leak on Wednesday.Paul Routledge, the political correspondent of the Independent on Sunday, whose biography is to be published shortly, says in the book: "Privately, Brown's friends believe Blair let him down, and there can be little doubt that they represent his feelings accurately. Gordon Brown's critics were yesterday rejoicing that the Chancellor's friends had again indicated his bitterness over Tony Blair's decision to snatch the party leadership from his grasp in 1994.

Anthony Bevins unravels the differences refreshed by a new biography. It is not known whether Gordon Brown, who will be accompanied today by his girlfriend Sarah Macaulay, was one of the eight.. It's her wedding day."Mr Balls - something of a television star, following this year's documentary series tracking the Chancellor's spin doctors - did have a stag night, organised by his best man, Tom Linden. It was, by all accounts, a fun- packed, fashionable and varied occasion.It kicked off with an afternoon watching Arsenal play Port Vale before cocktails at Quaglino's and then dinner at Pont de la Tour, the upmarket restaurant near Tower Bridge renowned for its modern French cuisine and for being the place where Tony and Cherie dined with Bill and Hillary."It was a very respectable event, as you would expect from a group of respectable gentleman," said one of the eight revellers. Her assistant at Westminster was equally unforthcoming, saying only: "Of course she is excited about it.

At 4pm guests are invited to high tea before cocktails and then dinner and dancing later this evening. The Cooper-Balls, known for throwing good parties at their home in Islington, are unlikely to disappoint on this occasion.Ms Cooper, an Oxford graduate with a first in PPE, was yesterday keeping silent about her special day, declining even to say whether she'd had a hen night. About as New Labour as you could conceivably get.The wedding couple is Ed Balls, the affable special adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Yvette Cooper, 28, formerly a leader writer on The Independent, but now firmly ensconced as Labour MP for Pontefract and Castleford.The civil ceremony is to be held at the Cavendish Hotel at Eastbourne at 3pm this afternoon. If it all sounds a little, er, trendy, bear in mind this wedding is New Labour. Guests have been invited to bring even their youngest children: a baby-sitting service and special entertainment will be available.