LONDON - Tony Blair's authority was ebbing away as details emerged of how he was forced by members of his Cabinet to cave in during a chaotic attempt to give his Government a post-election shake-up.
John Prescott, Charles Clarke and Ruth Kelly are among ministers who defied Blair as he tried to reshuffle his Cabinet to concentrate power in the hands of Blairite modernisers.
Prescott refused to cede control of local government to David Blunkett, while Clarke was furious at plans to strip the Home Office of responsibility for curbing anti-social behaviour.
Despite a 66-seat majority in the House of Commons, several MPs are openly calling for Blair to hand over the reins of power to Gordon Brown much sooner than the four years he has said he will stay on in office.
Blair's allies disclosed he is thinking of quitting in July 2008.
The most striking illustration of how hobbled Blair has become is the behaviour of the Cabinet's newest recruit, Kelly. The Education Secretary refused to accept a transfer to a different Cabinet post as Treasury chief secretary, fearing that it would be seen as demotion.
But the most furious arguments behind the scenes were over the role of Blunkett, whom Blair was determined to bring back to the Cabinet just six months after his resignation.
"Blunkett basically wanted John Prescott's job, and John assigned to a role of Deputy Prime Minister without departmental responsibility," a senior minister said. "John would have found it very hard to work with 'Blunks'."
The former Home Secretary was briefly considered for the health job before being made Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. "It was a typical No 10 shambles. Utter cock-up," one senior figure said.
Among MPs this weekend who called for Blair to stand down soon were Clive Efford, Jon Trickett and John Austin, none of them seen as "usual suspects".
- INDEPENDENT
Blair's authority dwindles as Cabinet defies reshuffle
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