New British PM 'rocket boost' for party - minister

LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A new leader to replace Prime Minister Tony Blair would give Britain's governing Labour Party -- flagging in opinion polls a ''rocket boost'', a cabinet minister said in an interview published today.

Hazel Blears, a Blair loyalist, also said it was ''almost impossible'' to imagine anyone challenging finance minister Gordon Brown to the top job, the newspaper reported.

And the Labour Party chairwoman hinted she might run for his No 2, taking over from Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

Blair is widely expected to resign by July.

''I think it will help to give us a refreshed momentum in our party. I do genuinely,'' Blears told the Telegraph, referring to the arrival of a new prime minister.

''Having a new leader, a new administration can give a bit of a rocket boost to carry on that journey,'' she said.

Blears admitted that the war in Iraq and a party funding scandal had affected Labour and ''overshadowed'' its record on domestic policy, according to the newspaper.

As for her political future, the minister said people had been encouraging her to run for deputy.

''A lot of people are asking me to do it people across the party. I think a lot of people in the party like me, they like my energy, they like my sense of 'get on and do' and that is what they want,'' she said.

REUTERS SY KP0946