LONDON, Nov 3 (AFP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair was due to bestow warm congratulations on his closest ally in the Iraq war, George W. Bush, as the Republican incumbent clinched a hard-fought win for the US presidency.
The prime minister, whose fortunes have been bound to his commitment to the transatlantic alliance, was expected to make a formal statement later Wednesday.
After a tense endgame debate over whether pivotal state Ohio could flip to John Kerry and flip the Democrat's fortunes, the Massachusetts senator called Bush to concede defeat.
Bush was to give a victory speech at 2000 GMT.
The US vote was the first since the attacks on September 11 three years ago radically altered the world view of most Westerners, and since Blair staked his popularity and premiership on joining Bush in the "war on terror" and in Iraq.
Blair got a laugh from parliament earlier Wednesday by appearing to almost congratulate Bush even before any victor was announced.
"I'm sure the whole house will join with me in sending my warmest congratulations to President... Karzai of Afghanistan," Blair said, pausing long enough mid-sentence to prompt a round of laughter in the House of Commons.
He was referring to the announcement in Kabul Wednesday that Hamid Karzai had won his country's October 9 presidential race.
After a few moments of laughter, Blair continued more seriously.
"Like everyone else, I await the outcome of the other (US) presidential election with interest," he said during his weekly parliamentary question period.
Britons watched with bated breath as the last hours of the race were played out across the Atlantic, where the past eight months of a billion-dollar campaign drive have exposed an America deeply partisan and socially divided.
The president, after four tumultuous years at the country's helm, was seen as likely to claim a mandate for foreign policies on which he has had Blair's tight coordination: the anti-terror drive and the ongoing military operation in Iraq.
Labour heavyweight Donald Anderson, who heads the House of Commons Foreign Affairs committee, told the ITV News Channel: "The people have spoken. There is a clear victory for President Bush. Now we must work alongside our US ally."
Conservative Party leader Michael Howard also gave his party's congratulations.
"We look to the president to be a unifying force for those all over the world who share our determination to defend freedom," he said.
In London, the financial markets reacted positively to Bush's likely victory, with the FTSE 100 index climbing 0.54 percent at 4,718.50 at the end of trading.
Political analysts here said Blair might now try to use his clout with the Bush administration to push for Washington to commit to his "personal priority" of reviving the Middle Eastern peace process.
"(Blair) certainly believed that President Bush was sincere in wanting to make progress on some sort of 'roadmap' design once he got the Iraqi crisis out of the way," Michael Clarke, director of the International Policy Institute at King's College, London, told AFP.
But Lord William Wallace of the London School of Economics warned the British leader should not expect any favors from the White House, emboldened by its fresh four-year mandate.
"Tony Blair shouldn't expect a reward for the British alliance, although there is some understanding in the Bush administration that you can't ask the British any more."
"It would have been much more comfortable (for Blair) if Kerry had won because there's a clear preference in the Labour," he told AFP.
Digby Jones, director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), called on Bush to move the US away from protectionism and do more to promote free trade and a cleaner environment.
"I hope President Bush will now take his political courage in both hands in a number of areas and use the power that the US has to create a better world," he said.
"The US is a protectionist nation and all the rhetoric of the election campaign has endorsed that.
"I really do hope that President Bush will now rise above that and set an example of free trade around the world showing he understands that globalization does not mean Americanization."
Leading bookmakers Ladbrokes said Wednesday there had been a rush of betting by British punters on Kerry overnight Tuesday as internet exit polls predicted victory for the Democrat.
A record eight million pounds (12 million euros, 15 million dollars) have been placed in bets with British bookmakers on both Kerry and Bush, double the amount wagered in the last election, according to bookmakers.

11/03/2004 19:21 GMT - AFP