Blair: I'll be gone within a year

Matthew Tempest and James Sturcke
Thursday September 7, 2006

Guardian Unlimited

Tony Blair confirmed today he will retire as prime minister within the next 12 months - but refused to name a precise date.
After 48 hours of frenzied speculation and plotting at the heart of government, the prime minister bowed to pressure and made a filmed statement at a school in North London.

Mr Blair apologised to the British public for the events of this week on behalf of the Labour party, calling it "not our finest hour, to be frank".

His statement came an hour after the chancellor, 400 miles north in Glasgow, told reporters that he would "support" Mr Blair's decision, but warned that there could be no more "private arrangements."

Gordon Brown told reporters: "I want to make it absolutely clear today that when I met the prime minister yesterday, I said to him, as I have said on many occasions to him and I repeat today, that it is for him to make the decision.

"I said also to him and I make clear again today that I will support him in the decisions he makes, that this cannot and should not be about private arrangements but what is in the best interests of our party and, most of all, the best interests of our country."

Mr Brown's brief pledge of support came in a few words to reporters came as he prepared to meet Scottish Labour MSPs tonight in Edinburgh.

The leader of the Commons, Jack Straw, today became the most senior cabinet minister to suggest that the prime minister would leave in May, two years after his historic third election victory, but warned that Labour was on the edge of an "abyss".

Widespread speculation over the past 48 hours has put the date of Mr Blair's departure at May, which is the 10th anniversary of his premiership and coincides with tricky elections for the Scottish parliament and Welsh Assembly.

Today's Evening Standard claims the prime minister will go by May 4, while yesterday's Sun plumped for May 31.

Mr Straw said it was "reasonable" to expect Mr Blair to serve for at least two years after his third election victory.

He said the prime minister would stand down in time to allow his successor to be in place before the start of next summer, but delivered a warning over the conflict within Labour.

"This is damaging to the Labour party, but it is damaging above and beyond that to the interests of the country, and that is why everybody has to settle down and ... accept what the prime minister has said or [what] has been said on his behalf," Mr Straw told the BBC's Today programme.

Asked whether this included Mr Brown, he said: "'Everybody' includes everybody in the party."

Mr Straw said he did not believe Mr Brown was behind the letter calling on Mr Blair to quit now.

"I am clear, so far as the letters that have been written, that Mr Brown was not asked whether these letters should be written and indeed, had he been asked, he would not have authorised those letters to be written," he said.

Mr Straw denied he personally wanted more clarity from Mr Blair over a departure date. "I am very content with where we have got to," he said.

"I would also be very content with there being an orderly handover to a new leader, who I hope will be Gordon Brown. I think that's the sentiment of the party.

"What I also hope is - in the light of what people now know, which is that there will be a new leader, whoever that is, by this time next year - that should be sufficient certainty for the party to settle down, to draw back from this abyss."

A strong indication that Mr Blair would break his silence came from the Labour chief whip, Jacqui Smith, this morning. However, it is a sign of the trouble the party is in that she is giving interviews - chief whips traditionally do not speak to the media.

"I don't think things have gone very smoothly over the last two days, but what I know is that my colleagues, the vast majority of ministers, the chancellor and prime minister know that their top priority is delivering for the country, is getting on with the job," Ms Smith said.

Ruth Kelly, the communities minister, accused the PM's tormentors of "petulism" in an interview with GMTV.

She said she thought Mr Blair's departure date would "become clear", adding: "He's given an indication that later today he'll probably confirm some sort of yardstick."

In an interview published in the New Statesman today but carried out before the current crisis, Mr Miliband said the "great mass" of the Labour movement was "excited" about the prospect of a Brown premiership.

the response kind of shows how good of a decision this is of him, no one cares anymore

i'm saddened by the lack of response this thread received.

If there was anyone who I figured wouldn't cut and run, it was Tony Blair.

The situation is a lot more complex, really. Back in the day, TB (supposedly) made a deal with his then leadership rival Gordon Brown that he would give total economic control to Brown whenever he became Chancellor (check) and would hand over power after 2 terms in office (which obviously didn't happen). Thus, Blairites and Brownites have been at each other's throats for a while now.

Depending on who you believe, this resignation statement was the result of either a nefarious Brownite plot, the natural reaction to a leader who's been in office nearly ten years, or an attempt by some MPs in the Labour Party to secure their seats in the next election (given that Tony is a bit of an electoral liability right now) - or all three.

And there's the whole new Labour/old Labour divide that they seem to represent too. David Cameron actually getting popular is obviously not making Gordon Brown any less uncomfortable.

Jesus. Anything but a conservative government, especially with that vote-hungry cretin.

It's amusing how some people view Brown as someone that will please the old left of the Labour party. I doubt it. I might be pleasantly surprised though... although his recent comments (like about the need for the nuclear deterrent) suggest he's going to become all prime ministerial on us.