Prime Minister Tony Blair, battered over his Iraq policy and a series of scandals in his cabinet, is facing a growing revolt within his Labor Party as scores of Labor members of Parliament demand that he set a date to step aside.
"I have a job for him: ambassador to Outer Mongolia," said Robert Wareing, a Labor member of Parliament for 23 years. He said "a very strong feeling" in the party that Blair should go has increased since Labor's dismal third-place showing in local elections Thursday. The future of the Blair government, the Bush administration's closest European ally, suddenly appears more shaky and uncertain. Blair, who was already suffering low approval ratings and rebellion among some factions of his party after nine years in office, is facing sharp, new attacks since the election and a controversial cabinet reshuffle Friday.
A BBC survey Sunday found that 52 of 172 Labor members of Parliament questioned said Blair should resign within a year. Labor MPs interviewed said a large number of their colleagues, many of whom have been Blair supporters in the past, are endorsing a letter demanding that Blair announce a timetable for stepping down.
"He said he's going to go. We just want to know when he's going to go. It's a reasonable request," said Ian Gibson, a Labor MP who said between 50 and 100 Labor MPs think Blair should say when he is going to leave office. Labor has 353 members in the 646-seat House of Commons.
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