Blair under pressure from rebels

By: DAVID CLARKE

LONDON - British Prime Minister Tony Blair was under pressure yesterday from parts of his ruling Labour Party to say when he will throw in the towel after dismal results in local elections.

A combination of sleaze and accusations of political bungling hurt

Labour badly at the polls last week as councillors across the

country lost seats in local authorities, giving a resurgent

Conservative Party its best result since 1992.

Blair, elected for a third time in 2005, has said he will not

fight another election and British newspapers on Sunday published a

letter from rebel Labour lawmakers calling for a clear timetable

for a handover.

 

A poll of 100 Labour lawmakers showed that exactly half wanted

the prime minister to go and a clutch of Blair critics in his party

called for his head in yesterday morning chat shows.

 

"So long as Tony Blair remains prime minister the Labour party's

position will not recover," Labour lawmaker Frank Dobson told the

BBC.

 

"These days he is a problem for us."

 

However, in a show of unity, high-profile cabinet ministers and

senior party officials hit out at the rebels, accusing them of

plotting a coup and trying to alter Labour's policies.

 

Finance minister Gordon Brown, who has long coveted the top job

and is tipped to lead Labour into the next national election due by

mid-2010, led the way by insisting there would be a smooth handover

and a renewal of the party to win back voters.

 

"We don't need outriders dictating the agenda," he told BBC

television.

 

"The mainstream position - what the vast majority of the people

in the parliamentary party want, what I want, what Tony Blair

wants, what I think the vast majority of the public will want - is

a stable and orderly transition."

 

Elected as Labour leader in 1994, Blair dragged a traditionally

left-wing party into the centre ground of British politics and

ended 18 years in the wilderness three years later when he romped

to victory.

 

Labour's majority was slashed at the 1995 election, partly due

to opposition to the Iraq war, but the Conservatives still need to

make considerable gains to oust them from government.

 

Blair has been battling a vocal hard core of rebels who have

tried to derail some of his reforms in parliament.

 

But senior party officials say any change of direction would

only play into Conservative hands and make it harder to retain

power.

 

- Nampa-Reuters

 

Blair, elected for a third time in 2005, has said he will not fight

another election and British newspapers on Sunday published a

letter from rebel Labour lawmakers calling for a clear timetable

for a handover.A poll of 100 Labour lawmakers showed that exactly

half wanted the prime minister to go and a clutch of Blair critics

in his party called for his head in yesterday morning chat

shows."So long as Tony Blair remains prime minister the Labour

party's position will not recover," Labour lawmaker Frank Dobson

told the BBC."These days he is a problem for us."However, in a show

of unity, high-profile cabinet ministers and senior party officials

hit out at the rebels, accusing them of plotting a coup and trying

to alter Labour's policies.Finance minister Gordon Brown, who has

long coveted the top job and is tipped to lead Labour into the next

national election due by mid-2010, led the way by insisting there

would be a smooth handover and a renewal of the party to win back

voters."We don't need outriders dictating the agenda," he told BBC

television."The mainstream position - what the vast majority of the

people in the parliamentary party want, what I want, what Tony

Blair wants, what I think the vast majority of the public will want

- is a stable and orderly transition."Elected as Labour leader in

1994, Blair dragged a traditionally left-wing party into the centre

ground of British politics and ended 18 years in the wilderness

three years later when he romped to victory.Labour's majority was

slashed at the 1995 election, partly due to opposition to the Iraq

war, but the Conservatives still need to make considerable gains to

oust them from government.Blair has been battling a vocal hard core

of rebels who have tried to derail some of his reforms in

parliament.But senior party officials say any change of direction

would only play into Conservative hands and make it harder to

retain power.- Nampa-Reuters

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