Blunkett resigns in new blow to Blair

David Blunkett leaves his office in Whitehall, London. Picture / Reuters

LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair suffered a heavy blow late yesterday when David Blunkett quit his government, compounding reverses the prime minister has faced since starting his last term in power this year.

Work and Pensions Secretary Blunkett resigned for the second time in less than a year just months after Blair had brought his close colleague back into government, prompting a blistering opposition attack over his judgement.

Problems are mounting for the prime minister, who has declared he will not fight another election after winning a third term in May - a move analysts say risks his authority waning as the clock winds down on his premiership.

"We have seen the slow seepage of his authority turn into a haemorrhage," Michael Howard, leader of the Conservatives, told a packed parliament after Blunkett quit.

"For how long will this country have to put up with this lame duck prime minister, in office but not in power?"

Last week, ministers split openly over issues ranging from a ban on smoking in public to an overhaul of the state education system, previously unthinkable for a government which had imposed iron discipline since taking power in 1997.

Blair is also facing an increasingly restive parliamentary party, ready to defy him on a number of issues.

May's election cut Blair's parliamentary majority to 66, about 100 less than he had enjoyed since 1997, meaning just 34 Labour MPs voting with opposition parties can defeat the government.

A stiff test will come later on Wednesday when some Labour MPs will oppose key aspects of Blair's counter-terrorism bill, notably a proposal to give police powers to hold suspects for up to 90 days without charge.

"I QUIT TO HELP BLAIR"

Blunkett said he had quit to protect Blair from damage.

"Tony asked me to stay," he told a news conference. "It could only have damaged the prime minister if I had stayed on."

Blair appointed John Hutton to succeed Blunkett. Hutton was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and had responsibility for regulation and public service reform.

The loss of a loyal ally is a serious blow to Blair as a section of his party wants him to hand power to Chancellor Gordon Brown sooner rather than later.

It also raises questions about how he rushed a remarkable politician, who overcame blindness and a poor childhood, back into government so quickly - particularly since Blair did the same thing with Peter Mandelson, who was also forced out of office twice.

"Having made the same mistake twice doesn't do much for your credibility," said John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University in Scotland.

Blair insists he will serve a full third term in power and force through radical domestic reforms in the time left.

Curtice said his ability to do so will depend heavily on how Labour fares in nationwide local elections next May.

Blunkett, 59, had been under fire for accepting jobs while briefly out of office, without going through a required procedure for former ministers taking private sector work.

He quit his previous government post of Home Secretary in a sex and abuse-of-office scandal after an inquiry found his office had speeded up a visa for his American lover's nanny.

Blair gave him a new government job just six months later.

Hutton starts his new job with a heavy workload. Plans to reform welfare benefits, to coax people off state payments and back into work, are due soon, and at the end of November a government report on the future of pensions

- REUTERS