27 June: end of the Blair era

[General Duke]

27 June: Blair sets departure date

 

 

By Jon Smith, PA Political Editor

Published: 10 May 2007

Tony Blair today announced the date on which he will stand down. He told an emotional meeting in his constituency: "The party will now select a new leader. On 27 June I will tender my resignation from the office of Prime Minister to the Queen."

 

He was speaking to a packed meeting at Trimdon Labour Club and told his supporters: "I have been Prime Minister of this country for just over 10 years. In this job, in the world today, I think that is long enough for me, but more especially for the country.

 

"Sometimes the only way you conquer the pull of power is to set it down."

 

He defended his record, including Iraq, but said others would make the final judgment.

 

And in an emotional moment, he said: "Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right."

 

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott today also announced formally that he was standing down.

 

The Prime Minister, MP for Sedgefield in County Durham since May 1983, told the audience: "There are obviously judgments to be made on my premiership and in the end that is for you, the people, to make."

 

Mr Blair began his long-awaited speech with tributes to his long-standing agent, John Burton, and his wife, Cherie.

 

Then he said: "I have come back here to Sedgefield, to my constituency, where my political journey began and where it's fitting that it should end."

 

Mr Blair conceded that expectations of his new administration in 1997 had been "too high" - but set out what he said was an unbeatable post-War record.

 

"1997 was a moment for a new beginning - the sweeping away of all the detritus of the past," he said.

 

"And expectations were so high, too high probably, too high in a way for either of us.

 

"And now, in 2007, you can easily point to the challenges or the things that are wrong or the grievances that fester."

 

But to massive applause, he boasted: "There is only one Government since 1945 that can say all of the following: more jobs, fewer unemployed, better health and education results, lower crime, and economic growth in every quarter.

 

"Only one Government - this one."

 

He insisted: "Britain is not a follower today, Britain is a leader. It gets the essential characteristic of today's world - it is interdependent.

 

"It is a country comfortable in the 21st century, at home in its own skin, able not just to be proud of its past but also confident in its future.

 

"I don't think Northern Ireland would have changed unless Britain had changed."

 

He tackled the thorny issue of Iraq by saying that removing Saddam from power in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan had been done with "relative ease", but the "blowback" from "global terrorists" had been substantial.

 

"For me, I think we must see it through," he said. "The terrorists who threaten us here and around the world will never give up if we give up.

 

"It is a test of will and belief and we can't fail it."

 

His remarks were heard in silence.

 

Mr Blair - who made no reference to Gordon Brown in his address - spoke of the lessons he had learned as Labour leader for 13 years and Prime Minister for 10.

 

"What I had to learn as Prime Minister was what putting the country first really meant.

 

"In time you realise that putting the country first does not mean doing the right thing according to conventional wisdom or the prevailing consensus, or the latest snapshot of opinion.

 

"It means doing what you genuinely believe to be right."

 

He said that bringing about change in the country - particularly to "monolithic" public services - was "hellish hard to do".

 

Sometimes you knew you were "fighting public opinion", but you were "content to do so", he added.

 

He insisted: "I did what I thought was right for our country. I came into office with high hopes for Britain's future, and I leave it with even higher hopes for Britain's future."

 

He went on: "People say it is a tough job. Not really. A tough life is the life led by young severely disabled children and their parents."

 

Mr Blair said he had been "very lucky and very blessed" during his time in office.

 

"This country is a blessed nation. The British are special. The world knows it. In our innermost thoughts, we know it. This is the greatest nation on Earth, so it has been an honour to serve it," he said.

 

He ended the speech which begins his long goodbye from Downing Street by saying: "I give my thanks to you, the British people, for the times that I have succeeded and my apologies to you for the times I have fallen short. But good luck."

 

Earlier today, Mr Blair told the Cabinet in Downing Street of his intention to make his announcement.

 

Mr Brown paid tribute to his "unique achievements" and his "unique leadership" of his party, Britain and the world, according to the premier's official spokesman.

 

Mr Blair then flew by plane to Teesside Airport before being whisked by motorcade to Trimdon.

 

After his speech, he was flying back to London and No 10.

 

Labour will now plunge into the process of choosing successors to Mr Blair and Mr Prescott.

 

Potential left-wing candidates to challenge Mr Brown for the party leadership, backbencher John McDonnell and ex-minister Michael Meacher, will announce this afternoon whether they have mustered enough support for one of them to stand.

 

Six candidates have announced they want to stand for the deputy leadership - Education Secretary Alan Johnson, International Development Secretary Hilary Benn, party chairman Hazel Blears, constitutional affairs minister Harriet Harman, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain and backbencher John Cruddas.

 

Labour's National Executive Committee will meet to draw up a timetable for the contest.

 

Mr Burton said he expected Mr Blair to remain as MP for Sedgefield for the rest of the Parliament unless a major international post was offered to him

[General Duke]

Blair to stand down on June 27

 

 

· Bush leads world tributes

· PM admits 'costly blowback' from Iraq

· Blair set to endorse Brown tomorrow[/b]

 

Tony Blair delivers his resignation speech at the Trimdon Labour Club in Sedgefield. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/Getty Images

 

Tony Blair today announced he was stepping down after 10 years as prime minister and 13 as Labour leader.

The prime minister returned to his political roots in the north east for his swansong, telling supporters at Trimdon Labour club he would stand down as PM on June 27. He will tender his resignation to the Queen on that day.

 

In an emotional 17-minute speech, he said the judgment on his 10-year administration was "for you, the people, to make". Mr Blair paid special tribute to his wife and children "who never let me forget my failings".

 

And he apologised for "the times I have fallen short".

But he concluded: "Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right. I may have been wrong - that's your call. But I did what I thought was right for our country.

 

"This country is a blessed country. The British are special. The world knows it, we know it, this is the greatest country on earth."

 

In Washington, president Bush said Mr Blair was a "remarkable person. And I consider him a good friend."

 

He added: "When Tony Blair tells you something - as we say in Texas - you can take it to the bank.

 

"He's a political figure capable of thinking over the horizon. He's a long-term thinker."

 

Mr Brown, who led tributes to Mr Blair at this morning's cabinet meeting, said: "I think I spoke for millions of people when I said to the cabinet today that Tony Blair's achievements are unique, unprecedented and enduring."

 

He praised Mr Blair's responses to the 9/11 terror attacks and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. "At all times he tried to do the right thing," said the chancellor.

 

In his speech to supporters at lunchtime, Mr Blair dealt directly with Iraq, many people's perception as his ultimate legacy, saying: "The blowback since ... has been fierce, unrelenting and costly."

 

But he insisted: "The terrorists will never give up if we give up."

 

Although he did not mention the US president by name, he made clear the importance he had attached throughout his premiership to the so-called "special relationship", saying Britain should "stand shoulder to shoulder with our oldest ally, and I did so out of belief".

 

Mr Blair admitted that in May 1997, when Labour took over after 18 years of Tory rule, "expectations were too high".

 

But he added: "I would not want it any other way. I was, and remain, an optimist."

 

Pointing to Africa, climate change and globalisation, he declared Britain had changed under his 10-year leadership, saying: "Britain is not a follower, Britain is a leader."

 

He made no reference as to whether he would stay on as backbench MP for Sedgefield.

 

Tomorrow Mr Blair will fly to Paris to meet the president-elect, Nicolas Sarkozy, where he is also expected to endorse Gordon Brown as his successor.

 

Tributes to the PM's 10 years quickly flooded in, although the Tory leader, David Cameron - in a webcast reaction - said it was "putting it mildly" to say hopes had been disappointed in Mr Blair's 10 years in office.

 

He added there was "so much promise and so little delivery". Mr Blair was "desperate to secure his legacy" but doing it by "sitting in Downing Street pulling levers".

 

The president of the EU commission, José Manuel Barroso, said the PM "took Britain from the fringes to the mainstream of the European Union".

 

Mr Blair acknowledged he had been accused of "messianic zeal", but said as prime minister, over issues such as Sierra Leone, Kosovo and then Afghanistan and Iraq, you were "alone with your instinct".

 

Simultaneously, John Prescott announced in Hull he too would be stepping down, firing the starting pistol on a deputy leadership race. Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland secretary, and justice minister Harriet Harman had both secured the necessary 44 nominations by the end of the day.

 

The other candidates are Hazel Blears, Hilary Benn, and Alan Johnson.

 

Earlier, the PM had confirmed to cabinet he would announce his plans to step down, joking it was "not quite a normal day".

 

The meeting ended with the entire cabinet "thumping" the table in appreciation, according to Mr Blair's official spokesman.

 

The two leftwing challengers for the Labour leadership, John McDonnell and Michael Meacher, were due to announce this afternoon which if either of them would stand - but postponed a press conference declaring it was "too close to call".

 

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats demanded an immediate snap election to legitimise Mr Blair's successor.

 

The party leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, has tabled a Commons motion calling on the Queen to dissolve parliament immediately, since Mr Blair promised to serve a "full third term" in 2005.

 

Mr Brown, facing a financially straitened Labour party and poor polls, is highly unlikely to grant that request.

 

Mr Blair was unique among Labour leaders in winning three successive elections. Although announcing before the 2005 contest he would serve a "full third term", a mini-putsch by both Blairite and Brownite backbench MPs last autumn forced him to confirm he would stand down within a year.

[General Duke]

audio:resignation