Look out Ed Tony Blair’s axe is ready to strike!

“Miliband increasingly looks like the hapless hitchhiker stumbling through the forest in a Halloween fright night.”

On the face of it, Tony Blair’s rare intervention in British politics was fairly pathetic.

“It may just be that it’s worth at least listening to my reflections,” squeaked the former PM in an interview about the issue that’s come to define his time in power, Iraq, and the issue dominating politics today immigration.

On both topics he’s on a sticky wicket.

It was the last Labour administration that allowed unfettered access to the UK for folk from Eastern Europe as their nations joined the EU.

Morally it was the right thing to do. You can’t invite people in then tell them they are only allowed access to some of the rooms.

But, practically, it’s clear immigration should have been managed more efficiently an increase in capacity in schools, housing and healthcare to cope with the influx would have been wise.

Politically, it would have headed off some of the current clamour, but more importantly it would have actually helped those people who now feel, in the words of Defence Secretary Michael Fallon echoing Margaret Thatcher, “swamped” by incomers.

On Iraq, Blair claims it’s foolish to believe things would have been easy if Saddam Hussein had stayed in power there. Which is undoubtedly true.

It says something about the mettle of the man that Blair is still willing to take these issues on and make his arguments.

And for those in the Labour party he is worth listening to. The electoral history of the last 40 years shows that Labour only win elections when Tony Blair is leading them.

On current form that record will be maintained in May. The party slipped behind in the polls again last week and Scotland, for so long the bedrock of the party, has succumbed to an earthquake.

Appropriately enough at Halloween, Ed Miliband’s tenure at the top of Labour is beginning to look like a horror show. And as he weakens, the Blairites in his party those who believe in the populist politics of the centre who have laid low since 2010 are rising up out of their political graves.

Miliband may have thought he’d driven a stake through the heart of Jim Murphy’s career when he demoted him to shadow international development secretary.

But, like Dracula regenerating in Transylvania, Murphy instead spent the summer in Scotland imbibing not blood he’s a strict vegetarian as well as not actually being a vampire but more Irn Bru than he has in many years.

That brought him back to Westminster stronger than ever and set now to take over the reins of Scottish Labour.

Like a damsel in distress in all the best horror movies Miliband, faced with one fright Blairite Murphy succeeding in Scotland, and after the last week he can only take the party upwards might turn another way.

London can normally be relied on for Labour votes and it’s generally accepted the party will win the next mayoral election when Boris Johnson steps down.

But favourite to scoop the nomination is Tessa Jowell. She’s almost more Blairite than Blair himself. It was she who convinced Tony Blair to bid for the London Olympics and then was instrumental in their success.

Should he turn another way, to the Tory sore point of Europe, he’ll find Pat McFadden newly installed as shadow Europe minister by fellow Paisley buddy Douglas Alexander and once Number 10 political secretary to you guessed it Tony Blair.

There are others, and this is not coincidence. They can see the forest for the trees and have spotted an opportunity for a change in direction will likely arise after May 2015.

Miliband increasingly looks like the hapless hitchhiker stumbling through the forest in a Halloween fright night, heading for the woodcutter’s cottage.

He’s hoping it will offer sanctuary a slim win at the General Election. But horror fans all know what awaits there the axe.