Blair Wins, but His Party Loses Ground
LONDON — British voters gave Prime Minister Tony Blair a historic third consecutive term in office Thursday but also sharply rebuked him over his Iraq policy, reducing his parliamentary majority and putting his political future in doubt.
At 4:30 a.m., more than six hours after polls closed, Blair was assured of becoming the first Labor prime minister to win a third consecutive term in his party's 105-year history. Labor, however, emerged with a much weakened position, losing scores of seats in Parliament, according to early results.
The extent of the apparent losses triggered doubts from many politicians and political analysts that Blair, who celebrates his 52nd birthday today, would be able to serve out a full four-year term. They expect Blair will face pressure to hand off leadership of his party and the government to Gordon Brown, Britain's finance minister, perhaps as early as this year.
"This is the end of the Blair era," said Martin Farr, a political historian at Newcastle University. "There will be a workable majority, but it is severely limited."
In a brief address in northeastern England, Blair tried to analyze the unfolding results. "It seems as if it's clear
"We have to make sure that we focus on the things that matter to people
Blair spoke after being declared the winner of the parliamentary seat in his Sedgefield voting district, beating 14 other candidates, including one whose son was killed in the war in Iraq.
"Iraq has been a divisive issue for this country, but I hope now we can unite again and look to the future here and there," Blair told supporters.
According to exit polls, voters abandoned the Labor Party in droves, with the disaffected splitting their votes between the Conservative Party led by Michael Howard, who labeled Blair a "liar" during the campaign, and the Liberal Democrats under Charles Kennedy, who said Blair had exercised bad judgment in going to war.
Minor candidates also received significant support in key races. In one high-profile East London race, a new party called Respect, led by ex-Labor firebrand George Galloway, toppled Labor incumbent Oona King by appealing to antiwar passions among immigrant Muslim voters.
Howard, who comfortably won his home district of Folkestone, congratulated Blair early today and said he would give him "full support" if Blair delivered on "the things that really matter to the British people." With Conservatives increasing their strength in Parliament, Howard took comfort in what he portrayed as a "significant step toward our recovery."
