The Standard Report: News Home - U.S. Weighs in on Blair's Decision

AP Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth

Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair at Downing Street , London Thursday Sept. 7, 2006. Blair planned to respond Thursday to the clamor of protest calling for him step down after eight government aides resigned, demanding he set a date to leave office. Key officials sent strong signals that Blair intended to leave office within a year, as a senior minister urged the party to focus on the likely "energizing, refreshing transition" of the Labour leadership to Treasury chief Gordon Brown.

U.S. Weighs in on
Blair's Decision
By Bonnie Shelton, 09.20.06

The United States may be losing its biggest ally on the War on Terror sooner than expected. Tony Blair announced Sept. 7 that he will be resigning sometime in the next year.

“I have done what no other Prime Minister has ever done in a similar situation.” Blair said in a recent interview with Time Magazine. I have said that I won’t fight another election and I have also said, on the record, that I will give ample time for my successor.”

Blair also announced that the Labour Party’s annual conference next week would be his last as Prime Minister. Blair successfully skirted giving an exact date.

Close friends and ardent allies on the War on Terror, Blair and President have pioneered new ways to stamp out terrorism and secure the safety of Western nations, according to the Associated Press, and the BBC.

Some students are worried about Blair’s resignation.

“It alarms me that Tony Blair is resigning. From a political and military standpoint his resignation seems to indicate that the US has lost its one European ally in the War against Terror,” said Sarah Schulte, a graduate student of history at Providence College in Rhode Island.

Blair’s first announcement came after several days of party infighting and controversy which led to eight junior official resignations and a split within the Labour party. Tony Blair and the “Blairites” represent the right side, and Chancellor Gordon Brown represents the left side.

Although he’s still the most likely candidate to succeed Blair, Brown may have lost some of his support. He is rumored to have orchestrated the events that nearly resulted in a party coup and did lead to Blair’s resignation.

Yet despite the controversy, Gordon Brown has openly stated in an interview with BBC’s Andrew Marr that he will seek election and feels confident he will be the next leader of the Labour Party.

Among Brown’s competition are Home Secretary John Reid, Education Secretary Alan Johnson and Environment Secretary David Miliband. Reid, a strong supporter of Blair, offers the United States the most hope in maintaining a strong British ally.

The United States will be paying close attention to the turnout of next week’s conference and the coming months, to help them plan their own foreign policies. The conference will run Sept. 24-28,th and Ministers will set the next year’s policy agenda and review the state of affairs from the past year. The US will be looking at what new policies are set regarding the War on Terror as well as leading potential candidates for Blair’s replacement.