THESE are tortuous times for Tony Blair and his Government.

Under seige from fuel tax protestors, under attack for the Millennium Dome, and under pressure from pensioners, Labour is now trailing the Conservatives in opinion pools.

At the beginning of this month Mr Blair's dream of becoming the first Labour leader to take his party through two full terms of office appeared almost certain to be fulfilled. Today both he and his party look far from invincible.

Their fall from grace is as baffling as it is spectacular.

Unlike previous Labour administrations, Mr Blair's has been blessed with benign economic conditions and relative prosperity.

The Dome has been a thorn in the Government's side since it took office; Britain has had the highest fuel prices in Europe for more than a decade; and pension increases have failed to match wage rises for a generation. So why are these factors so crucial to the Government's fortunes today?

We can only conclude that the growing wave of unpopularity is due not so much to opposition to the Government's policies, but rather a reaction to its apparent arrogance.

An arrogance which means that it prefers to throw good public money after bad on the Millennium Dome rather than admit to its utter failure and close it down. An arrogance which means it says it is prepared to listen to the case for a cut in fuel duty while the Chancellor insists he will not be budged on the issue until he sees fit. And an arrogance which means it can say that pensioners deserve 'top priority' but then only gives them a 75p a week increase.

On all three issues the Government has found itself out of step with public opinion.

At its annual conference this week Labour faces the daunting task of restoring the level of public faith it needs to stay in power at the next General Election.

To do nothing about these pressing issues will be tantamount to committing electoral suicide.

To concede to every demand made upon it will perceived as panic measures by a party desperate to cling on to power.

Starting with the Chancellor's speech in Brighton today, Labour must strive to achieve the balance between popularity and credibility needed by the time Mr Blair goes to the country next year.