Reshuffle fails to silence Blair's critics

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's overhaul of his government after dismal local election results failed to reassure some critics within his Labour Party who called for him to make clear when he will step down.

Blair, who was elected for a third successive term in 2005, has said he will not fight the next national election due by mid-2010 but wants to see through his reform agenda.

Some Labour lawmakers said yesterday that uncertainty about the leadership, on top of accusations of sleaze and political bungling, was sapping voter confidence and had dealt the party a serious blow at the ballot box this week.

"We've got a lack of trust in government at the moment and in order to restore confidence Tony Blair must tell us all when he's going to stand down and agree a timetable to elect a successor," Labour lawmaker Geraldine Smith told BBC radio.

Labour lost 319 council seats in Thursday's local authority elections while the Conservatives won 316. Analysts had said more than 200 losses would be bad for Blair.

British media said yesterday that a letter calling for Blair to say when he will step aside was circulating among Labour lawmakers and that about 50 were willing to sign so far.

A poll of 25 losing Labour councillors by a television channel showed a third wanted Blair to go immediately while nearly half believed the cabinet reshuffle would not be enough to repair the party's reputation.

Blair has faced a string of revolts from Labour lawmakers over his reform plans, notably to give schools more independence from local authority control. This bill only passed a key hurdle in parliament thanks to Conservative support.

While some Labour members object to the measures, there is also a hard core of Blair critics who hope their opposition will hasten his departure and bring in finance minister Gordon Brown.

Blair's would-be successor said on Friday he would meet the prime minister this weekend for talks on how to revitalise the Labour Party and win back voters after the poor local election results, which he called a "warning shot".

Relations between Blair and Brown have been tense at times although they campaigned together ahead of last week's vote. Blair responded quickly on Friday to the poor showing by axing his foreign and interior ministers, putting long-standing backers in top jobs and junior supporters in key party posts, in what was seen as a bid to reassert his authority as leader.

Blair's official spokesman said the reshuffle was intended to put experienced people in top positions while bringing on talent to push through his reforms of public services.

However analysts said the reshuffle will have done little to reassure Brown that he would become prime minister any time soon as it signalled that Blair was in no hurry to step down.