Labour has kicked off its General Election campaign in Birmingham while the party's two most senior figures continue their divisive public squabbling at Westminster. The party targeted the marginal constituency of Yardley, which it is fighting furiously to defend in the face of a strong challenge from the Liberal Democrats. The campaign team behind Labour candidate Jayne Innes, who was selected just before Christmas, launched a personal attack on Lib Dem candidate John Hemming, claiming "teenage yobs" wanted him to win because he was soft on crime. Coun Hemming described the comments as "a sign of desperation". But while a bare-knuckle fight with the opposition parties was under way in Birmingham, the internal battle between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown gripped Westminster. The scale of the feud was exposed when it was reported the Prime Minister repeatedly reneged on a pledge to stand down so the Chancellor could take over. Mr Brown is said to have told Mr Blair: "There is nothing you could say to me now that I would ever believe." The comments were revealed in a book by journalist Robert Peston, believed to have been written with the co-operation of some of Mr Brown's close political allies. It followed the extraordinary spectacle last week of the Prime Minister holding a Downing Street press conference at the same time as Mr Brown was making a speech on ending poverty in the developing world, in an apparent attempt to upstage his Chancellor. Yesterday senior Labour figures were forced to acknowledge the deep divisions within the party. In Birmingham, local activists and MPs were trying to run an election campaign. The early focus on Yardley, with an election not expected until May, illustrates concern that the Lib Dems could make a major breakthrough to gain their first Birmingham seat. In 2001, Labour won it with a majority of 2,576 after Tony Blair made a last-minute visit to the constituency to rally support. Cabinet Minister Peter Hain admitted in an interview withThe Birmingham Post last year that the Lib Dem threat was "the most dangerous thing" threatening Labour's majority and identified Yardley as one of the seats Labour could lose. MP Liam Byrne, who won the Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election for Labour last year, has been drafted in as campaign manager, even though he has his own seat to defend. The constituency's current MP Estelle Morris, a Culture Minister and former Education Secretary, is also playing a key role in the campaign, even though her constituency assistant was unsuccessful in a bid to become Labour's candidate to replace her. Instead, local party members chose Jayne Innes, a charity director from Coventry. She began her campaign by releasing the results of a survey which showed 86 per cent of Yardley residents polled by Labour supported the Government's plans to introduce identity cards. She said: "People here back Labour's tough measures to crack down on crime, including new powers to smash teen gangs, limit sales of spray paint to teenagers and now the introduction of identity cards." Mr Byrne said: "John Hemming is out of touch with hard-working Birmingham families too. Unlike 86 per cent of respondents in Birmingham Yardley, he thinks the identity card scheme is simply "posturing'". "People smugglers, identity fraudsters and teenage yobs will be hoping the Lib Dems win in Yardley - then they'd have an MP who would be soft on them and on their side about ID cards and tough action against teen gangs and graffiti vandals." Coun Hemming, who represents Acocks Green on the city council, said: "When you explain to people that the Government plans to fine you £2,000 if you move house without telling them, they don't support it. "This is going to be a tight battle. It will be very hard-fought," he said. | 
