If you've gotta go...Go Now

Blair may resign as party leader on Tuesday

By Andrew Pierce and Christopher Hope
Last Updated: 7:02am BST 27/04/2007

Tony Blair is considering announcing his resignation as Labour leader before next Thursday's local elections in an attempt to limit the expected electoral damage.

The Daily Telegraph has established that senior advisers close to the Prime Minister have urged him to make a statement just before the May 3 poll, which will be the biggest test of political opinion since the general election.

Most observers have predicted that Mr Blair would announce his resignation after seeing Northern Ireland's new power-sharing executive sworn in at Stormont on May 8.

However, if he agrees to the earlier option, the announcement could could come next Tuesday, May 1, the 10th anniversary of his election as Prime Minister, or the next day, which is the eve of the local elections.

The news would dominate the media for the following 48 hours and overshadow the elections in more than 300 English councils and the contest for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly.

With opinion polls suggesting Labour's worst performance since 1983, the triggering of a leadership contest would also overshadow any inquest into the defeat.

Even Mr Blair's most loyal supporters concede his unpopularity is so deep that his resignation could actually improve the party's showing, particularly in Scotland which Labour may lose control to the nationalists.

The move could also wrongfoot his opponents and even cushion any political fallout for Gordon Brown if, as expected, there is a rout of Labour in the Chancellor's Scottish backyard.

The eve of poll announcement is being canvassed at a senior level within No 10 to let the Prime Minister regain the political momentum.

If Mr Blair makes no statement about his intentions, and the results are as bad as some predict, the ensuing days will be dominated by speculation about when he will finally trigger the leadership contest.

One source told The Daily Telegraph: "It is a viable option. After the local election results have been digested the question will immediately turn to when will Tony go.

"We will not be able to get any other message out. It will dominate everything until he finally says when. It makes complete sense. But we don't always do things that make sense."

Mr Blair is anxious that he will not take the brunt of the blame if the grim opinion polls are borne out.

He was asked on BBC1's Breakfast programme yesterday if it had "crossed your mind about going before these elections then getting the so-called poison out of the system".

Mr Blair sidestepped the question and said: "You know in the end the important thing for me, because I did after all say I would serve a full term, is to make sure that I just carry on with the job and they get the things done and in the end people make a judgment about you at a later time."

Another source said it was unlikely Mr Blair would want to hang on until May 9. He said: "I think he is going to go early. Politically, it would be a huge boost to the Labour Party."

Weekend reports suggested Mr Blair could confirm his intentions early in the hope, as one Labour aide suggested, that it would "remove one of the main reasons for [the electors] giving Labour a bloody nose".

UPDATE: Number 10 Downing Street claim newspaper reports are wrong.