Tony Blair announced his resignation as Labour leader today among the people who first sent him to Westminster almost a quarter of a century ago and mounted a passionate, personal defence of his record during a decade in Downing Street.
In an emotional speech to activists at the Trimdon Labour Club in his Sedgefield constituency - where he launched his own Labour leadership campaign 13 years ago and celebrated his three general election victories - Mr Blair said that he would formally tender his resignation as Prime Minister to the Queen on June 27.
That timetable sets in motion a six-week contest for the Labour leadership - although few believe that it will be anything other than a long coronation procession for Gordon Brown, Mr Blair's long-time partner in the 'new Labour project' and his Chancellor since 1997.
The Chancellor was due to find out this afternoon if either John McDonnell or Michael Meacher had raised the necessary 45 nominations from MPs, but the two men said today that they would not announce until Monday which would stand.
This afternoon, John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister, also resigned as deputy leader of the party, setting off a rather more real battle to be Mr Brown's second-in-command. Two candidates, Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary and Harriet Harman, the Constitutional Affairs Minister, said that they had enough nominations to join the contest...
May 10th 2007
The Times
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