Tony Blair to resign today

[Vanhalen 0]

Some real news for once in here

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5322094.stm

 

 

Blair 'to hand over power in May'

 

Mr Blair has so far rejected calls to name a timetable on his departure

Tony Blair is expected to confirm later he will be stepping down as Labour leader within the next 12 months.

Commons leader Jack Straw said voters expected Mr Blair to stay "to the halfway point of a normal four-year parliament", which would be May.

 

It follows 48 hours of bitter wrangling which saw eight junior government members quit in protest.

 

Mr Blair and Gordon Brown were said to have to have had an "acrimonious meeting" over Labour's future.

 

It was followed by a day of open warfare between supporters of the chancellor and Mr Blair over when the prime minister should leave.

 

Junior defence minister Tom Watson and seven government aides - or Parliamentary Private Secretaries - resigned after urging Mr Blair to stand down.

 

Mr Blair branded Mr Watson, the most senior person to quit, "disloyal, discourteous and wrong" for signing the letter.

 

In a joint statement, four of the PPS group told Mr Blair that he had "not ended the uncertainty over when you intend to leave office, which is damaging the government and the party".

 

 

There has to be some certainty about who the leader is before the summer break next summer, not afterwards, and people can then work backwards from there

 

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Straw said he believed the prime minister had provided "sufficient certainty for the party to settle down, to draw back from this abyss" at the end of an "unsatisfactory" few days.

 

Mr Blair had "made it clear - or it has been made clear on his behalf - this forthcoming conference, in three weeks' time, will be his last annual conference", he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

 

"There has to be another leader in place by next year's annual conference.

 

"Our procedures take some time, because we're a democratic party," he said.

 

"There has to be some certainty about who the leader is before the summer break next summer, not afterwards, and people can then work backwards from there.

 

"I think that is satisfactory. I think it's what the party accepts."

 

An ally of the chancellor denied the eight resignations were part of a plot by the Brown camp.

 

"All the individuals - a number of them are very strong Blair supporters who have resigned from the government," Leeds East MP George Mudie told the Today programme.

 

"It isn't a Brown plot and I think Gordon is probably as broken-hearted as Tony Blair is about what's happening this week."

 

Mr Brown has so far declined to comment on the furore.

 

After a second day of frenzied political manoeuvring and plotting in Westminster, Tony Blair appears to have accepted the inevitable and is expected to finally announce a timetable for his resignation within hours.

 

It is thought that, in meetings with Gordon Brown and others, he has been forced to face the real prospect of being removed from office by his own party unless he names the day.

 

So, in what seems likely to formally mark the ending of his nine-year premiership, Mr Blair will set out his plans in public - precisely what he has been desperate to avoid doing ever since he announced his intention not to stand for a fourth term in office before the last election.

 

Commons leader Jack Straw has suggested that might see a timetable that would see Mr Blair announcing his resignation before or around the time of next May's local and regional elections on 3 May.

 

There would then be a period of weeks for the leadership election, with the prime minister's successor taking over by the end of the parliamentary session at the end of July 2007.

 

Mr Blair's enforced about-face on the issue has only come after 48 bloody hours which have witnessed the resignation of one junior minister and seven government aides, demands for him to go immediately from many party figures and the alleged meltdown of his strained relationship with his likely successor Gordon Brown during heated meetings in Downing Street.

 

Acrimonious exchanges

 

Speculation was rife that the chancellor had demanded a personal announcement from the prime minister on a precise resignation day - and one well before the 31 May 2007 timetable hinted at by Blair allies - as the price for his support during a short handover period.

 

That had led to acrimonious exchanges between the two rivals and allegations that Mr Brown had been orchestrating a coup against Mr Blair.

 

It is hoped that the two men have reached an agreement that will set Mr Blair's resignation date in stone and, in exchange, see Mr Brown calling off his troops and ensuring the prime minister gets a clear run through to his retirement.

 

 

Gordon Brown is looking forward to happier times

 

But that remains unclear as does the outcome of the battle by the chancellor and his supporters to see Mr Blair leaving Downing Street sooner rather than later.

 

As the chancellor was being accused of leading the coup against Mr Blair, so the prime minister was facing charges that he was trying to hang on to office as long as possible to allow an "anybody but Gordon" leadership candidate to emerge.

 

It is now indeed possible that there will be a wider than expected leadership election, with other candidates considering whether Mr Brown's moment has already passed.

 

If he is widely seen to have wielded the axe, that may also damage his standing amongst party activists. But what now seems abundantly clear is that Tony Blair has lost control of his own future and is being driven by events.

 

Lame duck

 

Ever since he announced his resignation plans there were fears he would not be able to organise the orderly transfer of power he promised.

 

His greatest fear was that, the moment he revealed a set date, he would instantly become a lame duck prime minister - exactly the charge that will now be levelled at him by the opposition parties.

 

Worse, the wrangling has given the impression of a government that is paralysed and obsessed only with the leadership rather than getting on with the job of running the country.

 

That too is something the prime minister was eager to avoid. But, in the end, he was unable to control it. And it was always likely that Gordon Brown, or his supporters at least, would start planning how to ensure the chancellor entered No 10 after Mr Blair.

 

But there had been questions over whether Mr Brown had the nerve to move against Mr Blair if he felt the moment demanded it - something it is claimed he has now done.

 

So, the end of Tony Blair's historic premiership is now clearly in sight. The only question which remains unanswered is the big one - just how soon will it be?

[TheFranchise 0]

Even as a conservative, I think Labour are fucking themselves over here. Brown the Bore?

 

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[Ginger Snaps 0]

Sorry to see him go. I liked him.

[NoCalMike 0]

Oh how I wish Bush would follow his lead....

[Art Sandusky 0]

Blair likes to cut and run, and by resigning has let the terrorists win. We should cut off diplomatic ties with Britain.

 

Really, it'll be sad to see him go. I've always liked the guy, despite going along with the United States on Iraq. One thing's for sure: whoever the next Prime Minister is, they'll have a hard time re-creating the rapport that Blair and Bush seemed to have.

[Guest JustPassinBy]

I'm going to miss hearing Tony Blair give speeches.

Definitely one of the best orators I've ever heard.

[Murmuring Beast 0]

I don't know what this'll mean. Will the English want Brown in charge? I fear a Tory government on the horizon.

[Guest Dr. Wrestlingphysics]

Blair's not going any time soon. He'll hang on as long as he can.

[Vanhalen 0]

Nice to see they have already began to tear themselves apart in the search for a new leader, the tories must be laughing their heads off

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5326064.stm

 

Former Home Secretary Charles Clarke has accused Chancellor Gordon Brown of "absolutely stupid" behaviour during the Blair leadership furore.

Mr Clarke told London's Evening Standard newspaper people were angry at pictures of Mr Brown smiling broadly as he left Downing Street on Wednesday.

 

He said Mr Brown could easily have stopped plotting against Tony Blair and questioned his fitness to lead Labour.

 

Minister Harriet Harman told critics to shut up or risk letting in the Tories.

 

And Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly said people should now "settle down".

 

"People are entitled to their views but I don't think Charles' views represent the vast majority of my colleagues," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

 

Ms Kelly appealed for "a period of calm and reflection" following several days of open warfare among Labour MPs over when Tony Blair will step down.

 

But any hopes Mr Blair's announcement on Thursday that he would quit within a year would end hostilities appear to have been shattered by Mr Clarke's intervention.

 

 

Part of the problem is that he lacks confidence

 

Charles Clarke on Gordon Brown

 

 

In full: Blair statement

In full: Brown statement

Special report: Blair succession

 

The former home secretary said Mr Brown should have reined in the backbench rebels who sparked the leadership crisis by calling for the prime minister to quit immediately.

 

"What he should have done was come out strongly and distance himself from them," he told the Evening Standard.

 

"He could have done that with a click of his fingers. This has been complete madness."

 

Mr Brown met Tony Blair on Wednesday after a day of open warfare - and a string of resignations - over Mr Blair's refusal to name a departure date or stand aside.

 

The meeting prompted speculation about a deal between Mr Blair and Mr Brown over Mr Blair's exit from Number 10 - an impression reinforced, says Mr Clarke, by a picture of Mr Brown grinning as he drove away from Downing Street.

 

Mr Clarke said: "A lot of people are very upset and cross about that. It was absolutely stupid, a stupid, stupid thing to do."

 

Mr Clarke said Mr Brown must "prove his fitness" to be prime minister.

 

"Part of the problem is that he lacks confidence. He is nervous," he said.

 

"That could all change when the burden of waiting for the job is lifted form his shoulders and I think it probably will. But the problem is, nobody really knows.

 

"He is not where he should be at the moment. He is talented and brilliant but there are these little incidences like the grin in the car that build up a terrible picture."

 

'Private arrangements'

 

Mr Clarke said many in the Labour Party had concerns about a Brown premiership and needed to be reassured.

 

Ex-Health Secretary Alan Milburn, a close Blair ally who has suggested he might stand for the top job, was "leadership material", he added.

 

Pundits believe Mr Brown put pressure on Mr Blair to quit earlier than he wanted to when they met on Wednesday.

 

But the chancellor insisted there were no "private arrangements" between himself and the prime minister over a departure date, telling reporters on Thursday it was for Mr Blair to decide when he goes.

 

Mr Brown, who is making a speech on Britishness in Edinburgh later, used an article in the Sun newspaper to praise Mr Blair's "courageous" leadership.

 

And here's Tony's statement

 

This is the full statement given by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair regarding his future:

The first thing I'd like to do is to apologise actually, on behalf of the Labour party for the last week, which, with everything that's been going on back here and in the world, has not been our finest hour, to be frank.

 

But I think what is important now is that we understand that it's the interests of the country that come first and we move on.

 

Now, as for my timing and date of departure, I would have preferred to do this in my own way, but it has been pretty obvious from what many of my Cabinet colleagues have said earlier in the week.

 

The next party conference in a couple of weeks will be my last party conference as party leader.

 

The next TUC conference next week will be my last TUC, probably to the relief of both of us.

 

But I am not going to set a precise date now. I don't think that's right.

 

I will do that at a future date and I'll do it in the interests of the country and, depending on the circumstances, of the time.

 

Now, that doesn't in any way take away from the fact that it's my last conference, but I think the precise timetable has to be left up to me and has got to be done in a proper way.

 

Now, I'll also say one other thing after the last week.

 

I think it's important for the Labour party to understand, and I think the majority of people in the party do understand, that it's the public that comes first and it's the country that matters, and we can't treat the public as irrelevant bystanders in a subject as important as who is their prime minister.

 

So we should just bear that in mind in the way we conduct ourselves in the time to come.

 

And in the meantime, I think it's important that we get on with the business.

 

I mean, I was at a primary school earlier.

 

Fantastic new buildings. Great new IT suite. School results improving.

 

I'm here at this school that just in the last few years has come on leaps and bounds, doing fantastically well.

 

We've got the blockade on the Lebanon lifted, today.

 

You know, there are important things going on in the world.

 

And I think I speak for all my Cabinet colleagues when I say that we would prefer to get on with those things because those are the things that really matter and really matter to the country.

 

So it's, as I say, it's been a somewhat difficult week but I think it's time now to move on and I think we will.

 

And I know you've got reams of questions but I don't think it's very sensible for me to go into them now.

[JangoFett4Hire 0]

Oh how I wish Bush would follow his lead....

 

No you don't.

[Toxxic 0]

Get Charles Kennedy in Number 10. I don't care if he drinks, he's got to be better than any of the alternatives, including Sir Ming.

[EricMM 0]

Seriously, if Bush leaves for any reason, we just get Cheney...

 

Is that an improvement??

[Skywarp! 0]

^ What, Cheney's not already running things?

[Toshiaki Koala 0]

You guys need Francis Urquhart more than ever.