Tony Blair is facing a growing rebellion over the question of when he plans to step down as Prime Minister.
A Blair ally gave an interview Tuesday hinting that Blair would step down within a year. But it didn't quell the stirrings of dissent within the Labor Party. On Wednesday, seven Labour Members of Parliament stepped down in protest.
The British government system has no term limits for a Prime Minister, so Tony Blair could go on until the next election, which is likely to take place in 2009. But he has promised to allow his successor time to settle in before that next election. His likely successor is Finance Minister Gordon Brown, a man with whom Blair is known not to be particularly close, and who is known to feel that Blair has stayed too long already.
In the swirl of Westminster politics, where it's always hard to tell fact from gossip and spin, there has even been a suggestion that Wednesday's resignations were orchestrated by the Brown camp in order to force Tony Blair's hand.
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