Blair: I'll step down

2005-04-13 14:52

London - British Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed that he would step down as leader of the Labour Party after a possible third term in office, as he launched his party's election manifesto on Wednesday.

"I have said that this is my last election. At the election following there will be a different leader," Blair said.

However Blair, flanked by six other ministers, including his most likely successor, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, insisted that he would serve a full third term in government if his party won a record third successive victory in the May 5 polls.

Asked by reporters if he wanted Brown to succeed him, the prime minister said the main issue was to focus on the elections and hold off on speculation.

"Before any of us... start discussing who should be the next prime minister, let's make sure I'm the next prime minister on May 5," he said.

"That's the important thing. I get very nervous about assuming things; there is nothing to be assumed at all."

Blair voiced Labour's promise to forge ahead with a "radical acceleration of the changes" made during its two terms in government following electoral victories in 1997 and 2001.

"There is a big vision behind today's manifesto. It is that everyone, not just a few, should get the chance to succeed and make the most of the talent they have," he said.

He and his key ministers each took the podium to outline details from the hefty 110-page manifesto, which makes Britain's economic gains under Labour its central rallying point. It also offers detailed prescriptions on everything from health care and schools to policing and pensions.

The manifesto roll-out took the spotlight off Blair, since unlike its two predecessors the red booklet does not sport the prime minister's face on the cover, and he shared speaking time with his cabinet.

Brown repeated the manifesto's promise to make "targeted tax cuts for families and to support work".

John Reid, the health minister, pledged to cut waiting times for medical care in the free-for-all National Health Service, while the education secretary said every secondary school would be rebuilt or refurbished and the home secretary said he was ready to tackle youth thugs, international terrorists and immigration controls.

Despite waning support for Blair, opinion polls have pointed to a new Labour victory, albeit possibly with a reduced parliamentary majority.

- AFP