Blair may quit after May 8 - Labour insiders

Prime Minister Tony Blair, preparing to step down after a decade in power, says he has changed British politics for good and history will judge his decision to back the invasion of Iraq.

Mr Blair set out his achievements in a memo to lawmakers of the ruling Labour Party, obtained by Reuters yesterday, and described by the media as his "last will and testament".

That will launch a seven- or eight-week Labour leadership contest that Finance Minister Gordon Brown seems certain to win.

Mr Blair is expected to announce his resignation soon after he reaches the milestone of 10 years in office on May 1 and after local elections on May 3 in which the Labour Party is expected to take a mauling.

His spokesman denied a newspaper report that advisers had urged Mr Blair to announce he was quitting before Thursday's poll to take away attention from the expected poor result.

While some reports say Mr Blair may quit the day after the election, some Labour insiders believe he will wait until after Northern Ireland's Protestants and Catholics begin sharing power on May 8, a landmark in Mr Blair's peacemaking efforts.

Mr Blair's memo showed his determination to secure his legacy and disprove critics who say he squandered the huge political capital he enjoyed when he came to power in 1997, ousting an unpopular Conservative government that had ruled for 18 years.