One less moron

Blair Set To Name The Date

Tony Blair will announce today when he will step down as Prime Minister following a day of turmoil in Labour's ranks.

Mr Blair has been forced to cave in to demands from rebel Labour MPs that he set a timetable for his departure.

He will use a pre-planned photo opportunity with Education Secretary Alan Johnson to make the announcement.

Mr Blair's hand was forced after the resignation of junior defence minister Tom Watson, while seven junior members of the Government quit their posts as Parliamentary Private Secretaries.

There has been speculation over the apparently co-ordinated moves by the MPs, with reports suggesting there had been "furious exchanges" between Mr Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown.

Mr Brown has so far made no public comments about the situation.

Senior sources within No 10 have confirmed that Mr Blair felt he had to give clarity to his plans to step down as Prime Minister.

Environment Secretary David Miliband has said that Mr Brown should be the only person who could succeed Mr Blair.

In an interview with the New Statesman magazine he also called for an "energising, refreshing transition".

The seven MPs who resigned from their posts were: Khalid Mahmood, Wayne David, Ian Lucas, Mark Tami, Chris Mole, David Wright and Iain Wright.

The last of those to resign was Mr Wright, PPS in the Department of Health, and he said that he "believed that the party and the government cannot renew itself in office without urgently renewing the leadership."

Mr Mahmood said that the Prime Minister had to set a "quick timetable in place so we don't carry on this public nonsense that has been going on".

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said the group of MPs who signed the letter calling for Mr Blair to go had committed an act of "immense disloyalty and foolishness".

Meanwhile, speaking from India, Conservative leader David Cameron said the Government was in "meltdown" and Mr Blair was now a "lame duck".

Original article posted here.