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Blair finds it "hard to let go''

Hasan Suroor

New Labour has changed Britain, says Prime Minister

LONDON: In what was dubbed the start of a "long goodbye'' before he steps down next year, British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday addressed the Labour Party for the last time as its leader at the party's annual conference in Manchester.

It was an emotional moment as Mr. Blair stood up to deliver his farewell speech getting a standing ovation even from his staunch critics who blame him for the party's growing unpopularity and have been urging him to go before he does more damage to its image.

Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer and the man widely tipped to succeed him as Labour's leader and Prime Minister, went out of his way to applaud Mr. Blair. Placards hailing him as the "Best PM Ever'' and "Thank U Tony'' greeted Mr. Blair when he entered the conference venue with his wife, Cherie, energetically waving to the people waiting for them.

Even his close confidants acknowledged that time had taken its toll on him and that he now looked "his age.'' Others put it less diplomatically describing him as a "shadow'' of the popular young leader who took over the reins of the party back in 1994 and injected into it a mood of infectious optimism that saw Labour return to power.

Half-way through the speech, marked by familiar references to terrorism and Britain's controversial alliance with Bush administration, Mr. Blair appeared to break down.

In a choked voice, he told the conference that though he knew it was his last speech as leader it was "hard to let go.'' Claiming that New Labour had "changed Britain,'' Mr. Blair urged his party colleagues to keep the flag flying.

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