Tough task for Blair successor after UK polls

ABERDEEN, Scotland, May 4 (Reuters) Prime Minister Tony Blair bequeathed his successor the tough task of reviving support for the ruling Labour Party today after it suffered losses in regional elections across Britain.

Blair is set to announce next week he will leave office by July and his presumed heir, finance minister Gordon Brown, risks taking office with the parliament in his native Scotland controlled by a party that wants independence from London.

Yesterday's polls for local councils, the Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly were the last chance for 39 million voters to give a verdict on Blair's decade in power.

The prime minister's popularity has slumped over Iraq war and a series of political scandals. Brown, 56, is clear favourite to take over as Labour leader and prime minister, and was endorsed by Blair last week.

Brown could rule until May 2010 without holding an election but doubts remain over whether he can rein in the opposition Conservative Party before the next parliamentary poll.

A BBC projection showed the Conservatives had taken 41 percent of the national vote, a threshold deemed necessary to win power at a general election. But mid-term elections are not necessarily a reliable indicator of national results.

Labour had braced itself for a drubbing in the elections and its share of the vote was projected at just 27 per cent. Blair's government slumped to a record low of 26 per cent in 2004 polls but still won a parliamentary election the following year.

''I won't pretend it's good. But it's not catastrophic. These things happen mid-term. The next election is certainly winnable,'' said Labour lawmaker Chris Mullin.

Blair has been Labour's most successful leader, winning three parliamentary elections in a row. But polls suggest voters have lost trust in him since he took Britain into the Iraq war.

SCOTLAND The Conservatives under new leader David Cameron have stretched ahead of Labour in opinion polls and they jumped on the results as a sign that power was in reach.

''A breakthrough in the north of England, a breakthrough in places like Wales where we've made real progress and, of course, across the rest of England where we've done incredibly well,'' said George Osborne, Conservative economic spokesman.

''We're in a position now where we can win a general election.'' With results in from 132 of the 312 English councils up for grabs, the Conservatives gained 15 and Labour lost five.

With results likely to dribble in throughout today it was too early to call the Scottish parliament vote but there were clear signs of a swing to the Scottish National Party (SNP).

After 81 of the 129 seats decided the SNP gained 16 and Labour lost seven. Opinion polls had suggested the SNP could oust Labour as the biggest party in the regional parliament.

SNP leader Alex Salmond has pledged to hold a referendum on Scottish independence in 2010 if his party wins control.

''There is a wind of change blowing through Scottish politics,'' Salmond said after winning his seat.

The Scottish vote was marred by hitches. Voters complained that tens of thousands of votes had been rejected because people were confused by complex ballot papers. Counting in some major constituencies was delayed by computer scanning glitches.

Labour was also facing losses Wales, where there is also a devolved assembly, but was on track to remain the largest party.

REUTERS KK HS1618