Thursday, 28-March-2024 15:38
 
no comments in "International"
International
Thursday, 10-May-2007
Almotamar Net - TRIMDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday he will quit on June 27, 10 years after winning power in what was hailed as a new dawn for Britain that has since been darkened by the Iraq war.Blairs resignation triggers a contest for the leadership of the Labour Party, which Chancellor Gordon Brown is favourite to win. Brown would then become prime minister. Almotamar.net Google News - TRIMDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday he will quit on June 27, 10 years after winning power in what was hailed as a new dawn for Britain that has since been darkened by the Iraq war.Blair's resignation triggers a contest for the leadership of the Labour Party, which Chancellor Gordon Brown is favourite to win. Brown would then become prime minister.
"I've been prime minister of this country for just over 10 years," Blair told party members in Trimdon in his northern England constituency.
"I think that's long enough, not only for me, but also for the country and sometimes the only way you conquer the pull of power is to set it down."
Blair, U.S. President George W. Bush's closest ally over Iraq, leaves office out of favour among voters for sending British forces to join the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
A Labour Party rebellion in September forced him to say he would quit within a year to allow Brown, his long-time heir apparent, to take over.
But Blair will also be remembered for helping bring peace to Northern Ireland after decades of violence, winning three straight elections for Labour for the first time and dragging it from its left-wing roots to the centre of British politics.
An opinion poll published by the Guardian on Thursday showed 60 percent of voters believed Blair would be remembered as a force for change, though not always good. The ICM poll said 44 percent believed he had been good for Britain.
Blair had long been expected to hand over power before the end of his third term to let another Labour leader guide the party into the next national elections, expected in 2009.
Brown, whose official residence is next door to Blair's in London's Downing Street, has waited with increasing impatience for the departure of his neighbour. Critics say their rivalry, often bitter, has diluted the government's effectiveness.
Blair quits as only the second prime minister in a century to have served 10 years, tainted by a corruption scandal in which he became the first serving prime minister to be quizzed by police in a criminal probe.
Brown's chief challenge will be to revive support for Labour and overtake the Conservatives in the opinion polls.
Conservative leader David Cameron, 40, has revitalised the party of Margaret Thatcher -- the only prime minister to hold power longer than Blair in the past century -- since he became leader in 2005. Polls suggest he could win a slim majority in parliament in national elections.

More from "International"

Other titles:
Tuesday, 17-October-2017
The United Arab Emirates acknowledged on Tuesday that two of its pilots were killed when their military aggression plane crashed over Jawf province, a military official said

The official added that the aggressive crashed plane was an apache that was
Tuesday, 17-October-2017
Three citizens were killed and four others wounded in two Saudi air strikes hit Majza district of Saada province, an official said on Tuesday.

The strikes hit a citizen's car in al-Jamalah area in the district, the official added.
Tuesday, 17-October-2017
Artillery of the army and popular shelled a gathering of Saudi-paid mercenaries in al-Moqadra area in Serwah district of Marib province, a military official said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, dozens of Saudi-paid mercenaries were killed and others injured in Wadi al-Theek in the district, the official added.
Monday, 16-October-2017
The army and popular forces carried out on Monday unique military operations in Taiz province.

A military official said that a number of Saudi-paid mercenaries were killed at the hands of the army and popular forces in al-Jazami Hill in al-Kadaha area in al-Ma'afer district.
Monday, 16-October-2017
A Saudi aggression fighter jet targeted a citizen's car driving in Fara area of Kutaf district in Saada province overnight, killing the driver and injuring his friend, a security official said on Monday.
Monday, 16-October-2017
The army artillery and popular committees launched a fierce attack on Saudi-paid mercenaries' sites in Jawf province, a military official said on Monday.

The attack destroyed a military vehicle belonging to the mercenaries and killed all on board in Sabran area in khab and shaaf district.
Sunday, 15-October-2017
Scores of Saudi enemy soldiers were killed and injured on Sunday when the army and popular forces repelled a Saudi military attempt to sneak into Shurfah site in the border province of Najran, a military official said.

The operation was accomplished successfully against the Saudi
Sunday, 15-October-2017
The army and popular committees have killed a total of 18 Saudi-paid mercenaries in sniper operations over the past hours in the central province of Marib, a military official said on Sunday.

Ten mercenaries were killed in Nehm district and eight others were killed in Serwah district, said the official.
Saturday, 14-October-2017
Saudi aggression warplanes have launched more than 49 airstrikes over the past hours on several residential areas across Yemen, a security official said on Sunday.
The airstrikes targeted the areas of Malahiz and Husama in Dhahir district, and areas Thuban, Masahif and Sdad in Bakim district of northern Saada province.
Thursday, 12-October-2017
The army and popular forces carried out an operation attack on Saudi-paid mercenaries' sites in al-Hawal area in Nehm district.

A local official said that the operation attack resulted in killing and injuring mercenaries, adding they also incurred heavy losses at their ranks

who we are     |    Advertising     |    contact us
All rights reserved © Almotamar Net, Developed by