LONDON, 8 September 2006 — British Prime Minister Tony Blair mustered all his skills as a political operator yesterday to take the heat out of the infighting which has racked the ruling Labour government about the timing of his resignation since he made that ill-judged declaration more than a year ago that he would not be seeking a record fourth term in office.

In a statement from Downing Street yesterday afternoon, Blair confirmed he will be stepping down as prime minister within the next 12 months and that the next Labour Party conference in two week’s time would be his last as party leader. He refused to give a precise date of his resignation, stressing that he would do so at a later date when it was in the best interest of the country.

Blair’s official spokesman has reportedly warned that the prime minister would not be “giving a running commentary” on exit dates. Backbench left-wingers and some hard-line Brownite supporters had hitherto insisted that the prime minister give a precise exit date. Even former foreign secretary and current Leader of the House of Commons Jack Straw warned that it is imperative the new party leader is in place before the local elections in May.

No sooner had the prime minister finished his statement the bookies were giving odds against the actual date of his departure. The London Evening Standard claimed in a banner headline in the afternoon: “It’s May 4”.

Straw moved to calm speculation by saying voters would expect Blair to stay “to the halfway point of a normal four-year Parliament”, which would be May. But Downing Street has rejected suggestions a deal had been struck to hand over power on May 4, three days after Blair notches up 10 years in power and the day after local elections. This would make Blair the longest-serving prime minister in British parliamentary history.

In a master stroke worthy of “the great communicator”, the prime minister at the onset apologized to the great British public on behalf of the Labour Party, stressing that the last few days have “not been our finest hour.”

In an emotional speech, tempered both with a hint of defiance and a hand of reconciliation, Blair stressed that “what is important now is that we understand that it’s the interests of the country that come first and we move on... As for my timing and date of departure, I would have preferred to do this in my own way.

“I am not going to set a precise date now. I don’t think that’s right. I will do that at a future date and I’ll do it in the interests of the country and depending on the circumstances of the time. The precise timetable has to be left up to me and has got to be done in a proper way. So it’s, as I say, it’s been a somewhat difficult week but I think it’s time now to move on and I think we will.”

The prime minister even joked that the TUC (Trade Unions Congress) conference next week will be his last as Labour leader, “probably to the relief of both of us.”

The announcement follows two days of bitter internecine feuding between the supporters of Blair and his archrival Gordon Brown, the chancellor, which resulted in some nine resignations by junior ministers and parliamentary aides incensed over the prime minister’s refusal to name an exit date.

The two leaders reportedly had a “an acrimonious meeting” Wednesday, but judging by Blair’s statement, it seems that Brown who has been conspicuously absent from the fray of the last few weeks, has come off second best. Blair’s supporters have accused the chancellor of “orchestrating” the attack on the prime minister in an apparent party coup.