Blair stepping down in June

[awing]

Blair stepping down in June


LONDON, England (CNN) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced his resignation Thursday as Labour Party leader and prime minister after a decade in power.
"I've come back here to Sedgefield, to my constituency, where my political journey began and where it's fitting that it ends," Blair said.
"I've been prime minister of this country for just over 10 years ... I think that's long enough for me, but more importantly, for the country."
Blair, appearing relaxed, spoke at his parliamentary constituency of Sedgefield in northeast England and said he would tender his resignation as prime minister to Queen Elizabeth on June 27.
At times, the outgoing PM was choked with emotion. He thanked the nation for supporting him during his time in office and apologized for his shortcomings but not for his actions.
"Hand on heart," he said, "I did what I did because I thought it was right."
Blair arrived to a cheering crowd of local activists and applause from supporters in his parliamentary constituency in northeast England. Labour's longest-serving PM met his Cabinet Thursday morning ahead of the midday announcement.
Blair's departure is expected to trigger a leadership election in the ruling Labour Party that will put a new chief in 10 Downing Street by the end of June.

Following the morning meeting Blair slipped out the back door and headed to an airport near London to catch a flight to his constituency. Blair has represented Sedgefield in the House of Commons since 1983.
Moving forward

Britain's powerful finance minister, Gordon Brown, is considered the heavy favorite to succeed Blair as Labour leader and prime minister. Brown, 56, who is from Scotland, has been chancellor throughout Blair's tenure.
Blair will not be leaving his posts as Labour Party leader or prime minister until after a leadership election within his party, his spokesman emphasized on Wednesday.
The selection process -- which includes a vote of Labour lawmakers, party members and members of affiliated trade unions -- is expected to take six to seven weeks, with confirmation by a party conference at the end of June. At that point, Blair will formally submit his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II, clearing the way for Brown to take over as Britain's leader.
Given Labour's majority in the House of Commons, an election is not required.
Blair's Legacy

Blair has seen his popularity plunge because of his steadfast support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and political scandal.
He had announced last fall that he would leave office this year but did not give a specific date.
His departure announcement comes a week after Labour took heavy losses in local and national elections in Scotland and Wales.
The Conservatives gained more than 900 local offices in England, and for the first time in 50 years, the independence-minded Scottish National Party ended Labour dominance to become the largest party in the Scottish Parliament.
At the same time, Blair's departure announcement comes the week Protestant Unionism leader Ian Paisley and former arch-foe Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander, were sworn in as Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive. The landmark capped 10 years of Blair's work for peace.

Blair, 54, has been at the helm of the Labour since 1994 and led it to an unprecedented three straight election victories in 1997, 2001 and 2005.
CNN's Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour said Blair began his career as a young, dynamic leader with a lot more hair and fewer wrinkles, who "made it cool again to be British, not just noble."
Amanpour highlighted Blair's humanitarian interventionist triumphs in Kosovo and Sierra Leone as well as his commitment to peace in Northern Ireland, saying his achievements were "quite amazing."
But his political fortunes have been weighed down by the Iraq war and an investigation into whether Labour campaign donors were rewarded with coveted seats in the House of Lords. In December, he became the first serving prime minister questioned as part of a criminal inquiry relating to the investigation.
Amanpour said Blair is arguably one of the most successful prime ministers in British history but added that his lack of judgement and the failure of his Iraq policy "is something that will dog him for many years."
"Nobody, perhaps least of all Tony Blair, could forsee Iraq as such a disaster," Amanpour added.
Brown vs. Cameron

Brown does not have to call another election until 2010. But opposition leaders, including the Conservatives' David Cameron, have been pressing for a quick election, arguing that Britain's voters should have a say in picking their next prime minister. Blair's departure, they say, is long overdue.
"Why does the country have to put up with another seven weeks of paralysis?" Cameron asked, calling the government during an exchange in the House of Commons Wednesday one "of the living dead."
Blair, with Brown sitting right behind him, replied, "I'll tell him what I'll be concentrating on in the next seven weeks, and that is policy."
Cameron -- whose party is regaining popularity after years overshadowed Labour -- "can be as cocky as he likes about the local elections," Blair retorted, "but come a general election, it's policy that counts, and, on policy, he loses."


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Kapalmuks sila talaga!

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