Prescott urges Labour Party to avoid "war"

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) British Prime Minister Tony Blair's deputy John Prescott urged ruling Labour Party members today to stop feuding over its future leadership after poor local election results and weeks of damaging headlines.

Prescott said supporters of Blair and his likely successor, finance minister Gordon Brown, should drop the issue until the party's next conference in October.

Blair, who won a third national election last year, has upset some in his party for declining to set a timetable for his departure after ruling out going for a fourth term in office.

In recent weeks, his government has been attacked over the bungled release of foreign prisoners, its performance on state health care and Prescott's admission he had an affair with one of his secretaries.

Prescott said it was down to Blair to engineer an ''orderly and smooth transition'' to the next leader.

''Whatever the feelings about this ... I do say to people, don't get into a war about it now. It is an unnecessary distraction,'' he told the Independent newspaper in an interview.

''I don't think people outside will be happy if the PLP (parliamentary Labour Party) continues to express great divisions about this, as we all know that is damaging to the party.'' Support for Labour has fallen sharply since Blair overcame opposition to his support for the Iraq war to be re-elected with a reduced parliamentary majority last May.

An opinion poll in the Times newspaper put Labour at its lowest level since 1992, eight percentage points behind the main opposition Conservative Party.

Acknowledging his affair had not helped, Prescott said he was keen to prove himself after a ''traumatic'' few days.

''I have been stupid,'' he said. ''I don't think there is any doubt about that. I have learnt my lessons about these matters.'' A poll of 100 Labour parliamentarians showed half wanted the prime minister to go and a number of critics in his party called for his head on Sunday morning chat shows.

Reuters PDS VP0735

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