The on-off-on-again relationship between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his finance advisor, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, has moved closer to reconciliation, after both leaders paid tribute to each other at the annual Labour Party conference in late September.

Blair underlined that New Labour and its three unprecedented election victories would not have existed without Brown, while Brown portrayed the epitome of the leadership role at the conference, saying Blair has been an exceptional Labour prime minister, to whom the party and the nation owe an incalculable debt of gratitude.

However, there is no hope that their rift over the leadership battle will be completely bridged, especially after seven members of the Cabinet, who are believed to be loyal to Brown, resigned earlier last month in protest at Blair's refusal to give an exit date.

And now, as Blair's fortunes decline, those of Brown ascend and with it, observers say, the end of any friendship that may have existed between the two.

The two fresh-faced politicians were both successfully elected to Parliament in 1983. In those early days, they shared an office, found they shared a similar political agenda and collaborated when the opportunity arose. At the party leadership election in 1994, both men were keen to grab power. The two reportedly struck an agreement: Blair would take first option, and hand the reins over to Brown in turn. Things didn't quite work out that way. Since the 1997 general election, Blair has won three consecutive terms in office, testing Brown's patience and creating tension within the party. Mounting party conflicts, from leadership to policy issues, both in the corridors and out in public, are now a daily occurrence.

The Conservatives, led by the youthful and charismatic David Cameron, have seen a new lease on life and pose the biggest threat to the Labour Party in years, even though the next general election is not expected until 2009.

Yet despite Blair's popularity nosedive, Brown's approval rating in opinion polls is still lower than his prime minister. And while the odds are in Brown's favor to succeed his former office mate, there is no guarantee that other challengers will not emerge from within Labour.