UK's Blair faces pressure to go sooner not later

LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced further pressure today to quit sooner rather than later after he confirmed he would stand down within 12 months but refused to set a precise date for his departure.

Blair, who has ruled for nearly a decade and steered his Labour Party to an unprecedented three consecutive election victories, yesterday he would resign within a year.

But his failure to either go now or at least name a leaving date is unlikely to satisfy some Labour rebels, disillusioned by a spate of scandals and by Blair's hawkish stance on Iraq and the recent war in Lebanon.

An opinion poll in The Daily Telegraph newspaper suggested 58 per cent of Britons now want Blair to resign before the end of the year and 44 per cent as early as this month.

Another poll conducted by broadcaster Channel 4 yesterday night showed that 38 per cent of Blair's own party members want him to resign as early as this autumn and a further 21 per cent want him to go before local elections next May.

Bookmaker William Hill slashed its odds on Blair quitting before the end of 2006.

''The pundits seem to believe that Mr Blair will go in 2007 but some very shrewd political punters are backing him not to make it to New Year's Day as prime minister,'' William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said.

''A TRUCE BREAKS OUT'' However, many newspapers said today that in making his announcement, Blair may have done enough to placate his finance minister Gordon Brown, regarded as his most likely successor -- at least for the time being.

Some papers said the two men, who have worked together for years but have a tense relationship, had agreed a deal under which Blair would unveil his resignation date next February and then bow out in May, allowing Brown to take over by June.

''A 'truce' breaks out'', ran the headline in Britain's best-selling daily newspaper The Sun.

Writing in the paper, Brown made no mention of any feud with Blair, praising instead his ''courageous leadership'' in the fight against Islamist terrorism.

The left-leaning Guardian newspaper said the two men had agreed to observe ''a sullen and potentially unstable truce'' until next year, thus defusing a situation which has dominated the media this week.

Politicians and journalists have speculated over Blair's future since he took the highly unusual step before the 2005 election of saying he would not stand in the subsequent election, due by May 2010.

Hailed as a hero after dragging Labour out of 18 years in the political wilderness, Blair has seen his support ebbing away in a decline mirroring the dramatic slide in Margaret Thatcher's fortunes at the end of her Conservative Party premiership.

The Conservatives have made significant headway under the leadership of David Cameron since defeat at last year's election.

According to the Telegraph poll, they are now eight points ahead of Labour with a rating of 40 per cent.

Blair's next big hurdle is likely to be his address to next week's Trades Union Congress.

''The delay (in Blair's departure) is causing such a concern that I have to say I think he should have gone by now,'' said Derek Simpson, head of Britain's second-biggest union Amicus.

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