British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to step down as Labour Party leader on 31 May 2007, according to the Sun newspaper, with his formal departure from Downing Street projected for 26 July. Because Britain's prime minister is simply the leader of the governing party, no general election is required when a party replaces its leader mid-term.
Blair has led Labour since 1994 and guided the party to three consecutive election victories, most recently in 2005. He announced in a 2004 television interview that his third term would be his last, a decision critics say weakened his authority by casting him as a lame-duck leader.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown had long been considered the obvious successor, but a competitive internal contest now appears possible. Work and Pensions Minister John Hutton wrote in the Independent that Labour's future "must be decided democratically and openly," a remark widely read as a challenge to Brown's presumed coronation.
Left-wing MP John McDonnell has already declared his candidacy, and media reports have floated additional names including Alan Milburn, Home Secretary John Reid, and Education Minister Alan Johnson. If 71 Labour MPs back a rival candidate, the succession process could accelerate, though formal leadership voting cannot begin before the party's annual conference in late September.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.