Blair to quit in 2007 - reports
14/05/2006 08:08  - (SA)  

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London - British Prime Minister Tony Blair has told members of his cabinet inner circle that he will step down in mid-2007 and hand power to finance minister Gordon Brown, The Independent on Sunday said.

The IoS and two other newspapers, The Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday, all claimed the 53-year-old premier would go between next year's local, Scottish and Welsh elections and the Labour Party annual autumn conference.

Blair is said to have been forced into naming a date after increasing calls from parliamentary colleagues for a firm pronouncement on the matter as continued speculation could be harming the party long-term.

He has until now said only he would serve a "full third term" and not contest the next general election, which is due before 2010 at the latest.

The newspaper said it asked one unnamed cabinet minister if Blair had told him he will step aside halfway through next year.

He is said to have replied: "I'm not going to tell you exactly what Tony said but I wouldn't disagree with that."

Another was quoted as saying that Blair had now given "half the cabinet" private assurances about a date but was not going public for fear it would play into the hands of the main opposition Conservatives.

Blair told his monthly press conference last week that to set a timetable for his departure would "simply paralyse the proper working of government" and he was keen for a "stable and orderly" transition of power.

The Mail on Sunday, meanwhile, said Blair had told Brown in February he had decided to step down next year but was now keen to backtrack on that decision because of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's perceived "disloyalty".

For its part, The Sunday Times said Brown, frustrated by years in the wings, is still demanding a specific date.

Blair's former social security minister Frank Field told the BBC Friday that Brown was unlikely to be elected unopposed, with a likely challenge from Blair's loyal Home Secretary John Reid and possibly other candidates.

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