THE rift reported today between Tony Blair and his deputy John Prescott over Downing Street proposals to introduce proportional representation to local government - a move that could dismantle the years of Labour dominance in many town halls - shows that relinquishing power does not comes easy to some politicians.

So why should Mr Blair be contemplating demolishing the citadels of one-party control that Labour has built up in councils across the country while at the same time risking a split with his deputy and the party's grass roots in local government?

The Prime Minister's motives may be coloured by aims to keep sweet the PR-loving Liberal-Democrats, who have become more self-assertive post-Ashdown, and tie them still to their loose alliance with Labour.

By this method the prime minister hopes to maintain the quasi-coalition that, at national level, is designed to deny the Tories power in perpetuity.

But, apart from this purely-political manoeuvre, there are reasons that are wholesome enough in themselves for injecting PR into council elections to which Mr Blair can point.

Not least is the unhealthy apathy of the electorate which allows expenditure of millions of pounds of public money and the control of important public services - schools, roads, social services, etc - to be conducted with barely any accountability in local authorities where the party in charge can do virtually as it pleases for lack of opposition.

This is because, under the present system, so many voters see so little prospect of the ruling party being ousted or having its power base reduced that they do not bother to vote and so perpetuate the system of one-party fiefdoms in the town halls. The promise of PR puncturing these set-ups may, together with contemplated innovations such as elected mayors, supermarket polling booths and electronic voting, overcome the voters' cynicism and disinterest and, by giving the smaller parties a greater chance to restore public interest, could improve town hall democracy and increase councillors' accountability.

And, as Mr Blair perceives, the taint in these one-party town hall states of old Labour outlooks and practices - together with some corruption scandals - does the party's image nationally no good.

Indeed, the New Labour war on damaging loony Leftism and outdated ideologies had to commence at local government level for the party to be electable nationally.

Mr Blair is right to be keen on local government PR - for the good of the voters and for the good of his party as well as that of others.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.