Blair broke promises to stand down, says deputy

LONDON, England (AP) -- Tony Blair's former deputy says he intervened in dozens of angry disputes between the prime minister and his eventual successor Gordon Brown, even advising Blair to sack his colleague.

Former prime minister Tony Blair finally relinquished power to Gordon Brown in September 2007.

John Prescott, deputy prime minister from 1997 to last June -- when he stepped down alongside Blair -- said in an interview with Britain's Sunday Times that Brown could "go off like a volcano" during the arguments.

Brown was "frustrating, annoying, bewildering and prickly," and often sulked or brooded during meetings with Prescott and Blair, Prescott is quoted as saying.

Prescott, who will quit as a legislator at the next national election, said Blair broke several promises to step down and allow Brown to lead the Labour Party, and the country.

Blair finally quit in June after 10 years as prime minister and 13 as party leader.

"I have no doubt that Tony was most to blame," Prescott is quoted as saying. "He broke his agreement with Gordon, not once but several times."

The ex-deputy is known for his bullish style and for punching a heckler in the jaw after he was hit by an egg during the 2001 election campaign.

Blair and Brown were the architects of the revival of Britain's Labour Party, broadening its appeal to middle-class voters who had previously backed the Conservatives and winning back power for the first time since 1979. They won three straight national elections from 1997.

But Prescott told the newspaper that during bitter rows he advised Brown to resign from Blair's Cabinet -- and told Blair to sack his troublesome colleague.

"Neither could take the final step," Prescott said, according to the newspaper.

Prescott's comments come as Brown faces further woe in a special election in the Crewe and Nantwich district, in northern England, on May 22, following his drubbing in recent local elections.

Brown led Labour to its worst showing in 40 years in municipal polls on May 1, and saw the main opposition Conservatives take control of London's City Hall for the first time

An ICM poll for The Mail on Sunday put the Conservatives ahead in Crewe and Nantwich, a previous Labour stronghold that Brown would be expected to retain.

The poll put the Conservatives on 43 percent, Labour on 39 percent and the Liberal Democrats trailing on 16 percent.

ICM interviewed 1,004 people by telephone on May 7 and 8. No margin of error was given, but in samples of a similar size it is plus or minus 3 percent.

Former Trade Secretary Stephen Byers said Sunday that Brown's government appeared "out of touch" to many voters.

Byers, who served under Blair, wrote in an op-ed for the Sunday Times that some now believed the party was "distant and uncaring."
Source : CNN.