PM (Blair) gone within year, allies say

[muriel_volestrangler]

This is more than the earlier "farewell tour" story; Hilary Armstrong is a Blair loyalist, and Cabinet member, so saying this in public is significant. Also, Blair's favourite Murdoch newspaper, The Sun (they, for instance, received the leak that the Hutton report on the David Kelly affair had whitewashed Blair, and blamed the BBC) has claimed a precise date - May 31st.

A timetable for Tony Blair's departure from Number 10 appears to be emerging, with some of his closest allies saying he will step down within a year.

The latest is senior minister Hilary Armstrong, who said Mr Blair would be gone by the 2007 Labour conference.

Seventeen normally loyal Labour MPs have signed a letter urging the prime minister to quit to end uncertainty.
...
Wednesday's Sun newspaper will name 31 May next year as the date Mr Blair will announce his departure as Labour leader, with his time as prime minister coming to an end on 26 July 2007. Downing St has said it will not comment on any such speculation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5318354.stm

The question over the timing now is the Welsh and Scottish election in early May 2007 (and some local council elections). Labour controls both the Welsh Assembly and Scottish parliament, but the Labour politicians there fear Blair will hurt their vote if he's still PM. If he were to go before then, they could campaign saying Labour had managed to get rid of him. However, Blair may be wanting to get 10 years as PM, which would mean hanging on till May 2nd, and the elections are on May 3rd.

[Benhurst]

1. That's not good enough.

Flush :hurts: the little turd now!

[saigon68]

6. The "Poodle", LapDog of the Singing Cowboy

[apnu]

2. Haven't they been saying that for over a year already?

Tony the poodle leaving is like Bush 'catching' Al Queda's #2 39 times.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. It's the first time a cabinet member has said it in public

rather than as an unattributable source. 4 months ago, for instance, the date, though unattributable, was claimed to have been pushed back from 2008 to 2007:

Tony Blair has told a number of cabinet ministers in recent days that he plans to leave Downing Street next summer, The Independent on Sunday has learnt. He was forced to spell out the timetable for his departure to senior colleagues as Labour's raging civil war threatened to engulf his leadership.

His private assurances back up the public pledge Labour MPs forced out of him last Monday, that he would give "ample time" to his successor to prepare to fight the next election. In the past, Mr Blair has insisted he would serve a "full term", and allies have suggested he would go in 2008 at the earliest.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article449000.ece

[savemefromdumbya]

4. The Labour Party could get rid of him this October

but too many Blairites in charge now

[Taxloss]

5. Evening Standard leads, STRONG, on 31 May/Sun version

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23365858-details/Tony+Blair+to+leave+on+May+31st/article.do

[CHIMO]

7. Blair's offer: I will go in a year Brown: that's not good enough

Gordon Brown made clear yesterday that Tony Blair's coded offer to leave Downing Street within the next 12 months was not good enough.

Allies of the chancellor said that Mr Brown was demanding that the prime minister set a timetable for his departure and make the details public.

Mr Brown also wants Mr Blair to rein in the chancellor's critics, such as Stephen Byers and Alan Milburn, who have been making speeches and writing newspaper articles arguing that Blairite reforms be continued after he has stepped down.

Mr Brown's unhappiness at the way No 10 is trying to engineer Mr Blair's departure became clear during a day of high drama at Westminster, in which No 10 gave vital ground by openly backing a statement from the cabinet minister David Miliband that Mr Blair would be gone within a year.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labourleadership/story/0,,1865758,00.html

[orpupilofnature57]

8. And we have to do the same to Shrub ,Impeachment until the day he's gone.

We need to strip them of any legitimacy ,so this will never happen again.

[Benhurst]

9. Now's the time to

:hurts: flush the nasty little turd.

[Vidar]

10. Applauding Mr. Brown. I fervently hope imprisonment is also in

Tony's future.

[samsingh]

12. one thing i like about British politics

is that parties remove their incompetant stupid leaders.

[Matilda]

13. If Gordon Brown thinks 12 months "isn't good enough"

why doesn't he challenge? It's possible to do this under the Westminster system, but if he doesn't
it surely can only mean that he really doesn't have the numbers. It's a very interesting situation -
Blair is on the nose, but the Party seems reluctant to actually force him out. Do they really
doubt Brown's ability to win an election?

[samsingh]

11. that's still way too long.

[Eugene]

14. BBC: Blair hits out over 'disloyalty'

Last Updated: Wednesday, 6 September 2006, 12:27 GMT 13:27 UK

Blair hits out over 'disloyalty'

Tony Blair has branded ex-junior minister Tom Watson "disloyal, discourteous
and wrong" for signing a letter urging the prime minister to go.

He spoke out as Khalid Mahmood, a parliamentary secretary to Home Office Minister
Tony McNulty, also quit.

The resignations came as Mr Blair faces growing pressure to name a departure date
before the end of the year.

-snip-

'Blair loyalist'

Just minutes after Mr Watson announced his decision to quit, Mr Blair said he was going
to sack him anyway.

Mr Watson and Mr Mahmood were among 17 normally loyal Labour MPs who signed a letter
calling on Mr Blair to quit

-snip-

Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5319328.stm

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. Infamy! Infamy! They've all got in in for me! (n/t)

[Binka]

16. Time For Tony To Get A Lifestyle Guru? Maybe He Could Borrow Cherie's?

Tony needs a good tarting up :sarcasm:.