The Hindu : International : Blair may hand over reins to Gordon Brown

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Monday, Apr 18, 2005

International

International

Blair may hand over reins to Gordon Brown

Hasan Suroor

Deal being negotiated, say reports

LONDON: Speculation that the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, may not complete a full five-year term, if returned to power in next month's general election, has gained momentum amid reports that under a deal being negotiated, he will hand over power to Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and his arch rival in the party.

Reports of a deal emerged barely a week after Mr Blair made clear at a press conference that he would serve a full term, insisting "when I say full term, it means a full term."

One newspaper on Sunday quoted Mr Blair's "closest aides'' as saying that his public posturing notwithstanding, he was not likely to stay for very long after winning the next election. Roy Hattersley, former deputy leader of the Labour Party, reckoned that Mr Blair would step down after two more years in office.

According to The Independent on Sunday, negotiations for a "smooth hand-over'' of power to Mr Brown were underway.

"Power is already shifting to Mr Brown who is pressing Mr Blair to retain his key allies in the Cabinet.

In particular, he is pushing for Jack Straw to stay at the Foreign Office,'' it said, pointing out that rumours about Mr Straw's future were triggered after he took a back seat at the launch of the Labour Party's election manifesto last week.

Meanwhile opinion polls continued to give Labour an edge over the Conservative Party.

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