World | UK
UK's Brown taking advice from Blair, says Cherie
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is taking advice from his predecessor Tony Blair despite their old rivalry, Blair's wife said.
- Agencies
- Published: 14:10 May 10, 2008
London: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is taking advice from his predecessor Tony Blair despite their old rivalry, Blair's wife said.
Cherie Blair said Brown was pushing her husband to quit when he suffered a crisis of confidence in 2004 over the US-led war in Iraq.
"I thought he was putting too much pressure on Tony to quit when Tony wasn't ready," she told the Sun.
Brown took over as prime minister in June 2007 but quickly became unpopular after rising fuel and food prices and a downturn in the housing market.
A YouGov popularity poll on Friday put Brown's Labour party on 23 per cent with the opposition Conservative Party on 49 per cent, which would guarantee a crushing defeat for Labour if national elections were called. Brown must call an election by 2010 at the latest.
"I know that Tony thinks Gordon could win the election and I know he has spoken to Gordon about how he could do that," Cherie said.
Share this article
UK
Leaked documents question Blair's Iraq account
Afghan regime will fall in 'weeks' if Nato quits now
British kidnap victim pleads for life
School reform sees opposition from Prince Charles
Officer missing as bridge collapses
One in a thousand years' occurrence
Tories threaten to axe quangos
Prehistoric croc remains uncovered
More from World
News Editor's choice
-
Shilpa Shetty ties knot with Kundra
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty tied the knot with London-based businessman Raj Kundra
-
A weighty issue for Gulf News readers
Should we encourage pupils to slim down? Gulf News readers speak out
-
Work on world's longest sea crossing to begin in 2010
The proposed Qatar-Bahrain causeway project, tipped to be the world's longest sea crossing, is estimated at a cost of at $2.7 billion (Dh9.9 billion)
