Blair to stand down next year if Labour fails to back reforms, say aides

[Thom Little]

Close allies say that Tony Blair may stand down as Prime Minister next year if Labour MPs refuse to back his reforms on education, health and welfare.

Aides said yesterday that Mr Blair was not "threatening" to quit and hoped to carry on beyond next year, winning parliamentary approval for the changes included in Labour's manifesto. They insisted he still wanted "a stable and orderly transition" to Gordon Brown before the next election and did not want to plunge his party into turmoil by walking out.

But the Blair allies raised the prospect that the Prime Minister could decide to leave sooner than expected if Labour MPs blocked his attempts to reform public services to secure his political legacy. One close adviser said: "This is not a threat. It is just the reality. There would be no bitterness. If people don't want him to continue, so be it. But they have to decide what sort of government they want."

The message will be viewed with alarm by his critics in the Parliamentary Labour Party. They are worried that he has become an increasingly presidential figure who might damage Labour's prospects at the next election by detaching himself from his party.



http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article334999.ece

[rpannier]

1. Bye Bye Tony

I hope he goes.

[saigon68]

4. The "kept " poodle

[BillZBubb]

2. Labour, get it in writing. Don't let the weasel play you.

Then kill his "reforms" and save the party. It would be a great day for England.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

8. I'm curious...

What is it specifically about his proposed reforms that you do not like?

[MrPrax]

3. Too Late...

Sorry British Labor, but you had the opportunity to get rid of the guy on principle...you didn't and as such, yer as much 'baby burners' as RePukes...

You can't go back...wankers

[occuserpens]

5. "Tony steps down" rumor #1001

[DemInDistress]

6. Ah! and now on to Carlyle so he can make

his own Billion !!!!

[Voltaire99]

7. Ironically, still massively popular within Labour...

...even if his pathetic leadership is driving the UK into Tory hands.

More proof of neo-liberalism's failure.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

9. Not exactly ironic,

...considering that he's the guy who brought them back into power and kept them there. His support in Labour does seem to be diminishing as of late, but that has little to do with the war and a lot to do with internal party struggles and domestic issues. (Not that Americans want to hear this - they mostly just view him as "the poodle" as if reality were actually that simple.)