Tony Blair was accused yesterday of presiding over a "culture of cronyism" after reports that ministers have defied the rules on public appointments. I grew up seeing Liberals winning, by identifying local issues of concern and by building a base showing we could win."Now, with public trust in Labour and the Tories waning, he is betting that his party can overtake the Tories in the polls by the next election and form the government by 2009."I am determined that the Lib Dems don't understate our potential for the next general election. I think that we will hold what we have and continue making good gains off the Tories," he said "I think a Lib-Dem government is possible in 2009. I think we can make significant gains at the next general election Quite the scale of how we move up I don't know. A string of election victories followed and Lord Rennard was rewarded by Paddy Ashdown with a peerage."The idea that the party couldn't win in an area just didn't occur to me. It's a good bet that we could win."But unlike in Brent East, the Liberal Democrats have been forced to build up support in a shorter campaign and to stretch resources between two Midlands constituencies.And stung by their battering at the hands of the Liberal Democrats last year in Brent, both Labour and the Tories have rallied their troops and have been fighting more aggressive campaigns."We think the movement is in our direction.

"Sarah Teather [the MP who won Brent East] and I are both going to campaign meetings [this] morning to gee up the troops and tell them it will be terribly close."Lord Rennard is not one for exaggerating his party's standing in the polls and is adamant that such a practice damagescredibility.Since his first election campaign in Liverpool as a 12 year old, when he delivered Liberal leaflets in a city council poll, he has gauged the political mood like a weather vane. But they have both been very short by-election campaigns," he said. What the canvassers are saying in both seats is that the feeling is very much like it was in Brent East It's very close in both In both of them could well be within 1,000 votes either way We think the movement is in our direction. They are invalid if they arrive any later than the first post on the specified closing date All entries must bear the correct postage. Usher Raymond has become the third artist to score three US Top 10s in one year In the UK, the 25-year-old is doing pretty well too His swooping R'n'B anthem "Burn" is at No 1. The day of the gig, he'd visited Newham College in east London, and The Sun newspaper pictured him clambering into a car accompanied by eight "groupies" His bad boy/good boy image is honed to perfection. His bad boy/good boy image is honed to perfection. Usher Raymond rose to fame after his mother and manager, Jonetta entered him in a talent contest in his hometown of Atlanta while he was 14.

He was spotted by LA Face records co-founder L A Reid, who wasted no time in signing the gospel choirboy to a recording contract.The record company quickly put out an album Usher in 1994, which was produced by Sean Puffy Combs, as he was then known. The eponymous debut album set Usher on his way to becoming a sex symbol.Released in March, Usher's fifth album Confessions continues the theme of sex and desire. The title track involves Usher telling his girlfriend that his "chick on the side" is pregnant. Despite breaking up with TLC's Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas earlier this year, the singer insists the song is fiction. Since then - at Beyonc? request - he appeared in her video for "Naughty Girl".Tonight, dressed all in white and battling with a wind machine, he rises on a platform through dry ice, as if hovering by the gates of heaven. The crucifixion complex is complete when he hangs a mike stand across his naked shoulders.

Well, what do you expect from a man nicknamed Big Time? The hairless torso is revealed twice to inevitable screams. Blown up for full inspection on Wembley's mammoth screens is evidence of his well-documented zero carbs regime. His ripped shirt, tossed into the audience, feeds the pubescent fever. Usher nonchalantly loosens his belt and slinks off, revealing his pants over dropping denim.Confessions' singles are regurgitated in a row. Following Usher's lead, "Burn" brings out the lighters, while "Yeah!" is introduced by fireworks and finishes with a backflip and a shower of confetti.The voice, recalling Marvin Gaye at its dizzying peaks, is as athletic as his dancing.