Over the past few sweltering weeks, shorts and T-shirts have steadily taken over from suits and ties as the dress code in 10 Downing Street. A sign of creeping demob happiness or just a lack of air conditioning? Probably a bit of both. As the prime minister packs his bags for a brief trip to America before beginning his summer holiday, there is a distinct feeling that when he returns the countdown to his departure will begin in earnest. These are strange political times. Tony Blair's energy and appetite for the job is undiminished. According to those who see him daily, he is unfailingly cheerful. Such is his sense of purpose that he refuses to be distracted even by the. increasingly menacing police investigation into party funding.
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