Blair bows out, defending record

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Tony Blair will resign as British PM and Labour Party leader on June 27 Powerful Treasury chief Gordon Brown, is expected to succeed Blair in late June LONDON, England (CNN) -- Tony Blair announced Thursday he would step down as Labour Party leader and British prime minister, defending his record during his decade in power, but adding my apologies to you for the times I've fallen short.
Blair spoke at his parliamentary constituency in northeast England and said he would tender his resignation to Queen Elizabeth on June 27. He later returned to London.

I've come back here to Sedgefield, to my constituency, where my political journey began and where it's fitting that it ends, Blair said.
I've been prime minister of this country for just over 10 years ..

. I think that's long enough for me, but more especially, for the country.
And sometimes the only way you conquer the pull of power is to set it down.

At times, the PM appeared choked with emotion, thanking the nation for supporting him during his time in office and apologizing for his shortcomings -- but not his actions.
I give my thanks to you, the British people, for the times that I've succeeded and my apologies to you for the times I've fallen short, Blair said.
After announcing his departure, Blair defended his record.

I ask you to accept one thing, he said. Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right. I may have been wrong -- that's your call.

But believe one thing if nothing else. I did what I thought was right for our country and I came into office with high hopes for Britain's future and you know I leave it with even higher hopes for Britain's future.
Blair arrived to a cheering crowd of local activists.

Earlier, in London, Labour's longest-serving PM told his Cabinet of his decision.
His departure is expected to trigger a leadership election in the ruling Labour Party that will mean a new PM by the end of June. John Prescott, Blair's deputy prime minister since 1997, also resigned Thursday.

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Speaking in Washington, U.S. President George W.

Bush praised Blair as a man who's kept his word, which sometimes is rare in the political circles I run in.
I'll miss Tony Blair, Bush said. He is a political figure who is capable of thinking over the horizon.

He's a long-term thinker.
Blair's close alliance with the U.S.

leader has been roundly criticized by Britons, who overwhelmingly oppose the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Before his announcement, Blair showcased the charisma that helped get him elected in 1997, joking with one of his supporters: When I was coming in (she was saying) 'Four more years!' ..

. and I was saying 'Maureen, that's not on message for today.'

Moving forward

But in his 20-minute speech to a crowd of enthusiastic supporters in his northeastern constituency of Sedgefield, Blair defended his record, both domestically and internationally.

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There is only one government since 1945 that can say all of the following: more jobs, fewer unemployed, better health and education results, lower crime and economic growth in every quarter, Blair said. Only one government, this one.
He touted his decision to make Britain a country that intervened, that did not pass by or keep out of the thick of it when it came to human rights abuses in Sierra Leone and Kosovo.

But it was Blair's decision to support Bush and the U.S.-led war in Iraq that has caused his popularity among Britons to plummet.

The British leader acknowledged that in his speech, saying, I may have been wrong, that's your call, but believe one thing if nothing else: I did what I thought was right for the country.
One prominent opponent of the war, Respect MP George Galloway acknowledged there were solid achievements during Blair's years in power, such as the power-sharing deal in Northern Ireland.
But, Galloway added, those gains were drowned in the blood of the hundreds of thousands of people who have been killed in the war in Iraq, some of them our own soldiers.

Far more of them, the soldiers of the United States Armed Forces.

Bush backs Brown

Before his speech, Blair met his Cabinet in London and confirmed his intention to step down.
Britain's powerful treasury chief, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, is considered the heavy favorite to succeed Blair as Labour leader and prime minister.

Brown, 56, who is from Scotland, has been chancellor throughout Blair's tenure.
Bush said he looks forward to meeting with Brown, who he called an open and engaging person who understands the consequences of failure in Iraq.
The selection process -- which includes a vote of Labour lawmakers, party members and members of affiliated trade unions -- is expected to take six to seven weeks, with confirmation by a party conference at the end of June.

At that point, Blair will formally submit his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II, clearing the way for Brown to take over as Britain's leader.
Given Labour's majority in the House of Commons, the change does not require an election.

Fewer wrinkles

Blair, 54, has been at the helm of Labour since 1994 and led it to an unprecedented three straight election victories in 1997, 2001 and 2005.

CNN's Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour said Blair began his career as a young, dynamic leader with a lot more hair and fewer wrinkles, who made it cool again to be British, not just noble.
Amanpour highlighted Blair's humanitarian interventions in Kosovo and Sierra Leone as well as his commitment to peace in Northern Ireland, saying his achievements were quite amazing.
But his political fortunes have been weighed down by Iraq and an investigation into whether Labour campaign donors were rewarded with political honors.

In December, he became the first serving prime minister questioned as part of a criminal inquiry relating to the investigation.
Amanpour said Blair was arguably one of the most successful prime ministers in British history but added that his Iraq policy is something that will dog him for many years.
Nobody, perhaps least of all Tony Blair, could forsee Iraq as such a disaster, Amanpour added.

But even at the end of his political career Blair continues to defend his decisions, just as he did at the 2005 Labour Party conference.
I know there's a bit of us that would like me to do a Hugh Grant in Love Actually and tell America where to get off, he said. But the difference between a good film and real life is that in real life there's the next day, the next year, the next lifetime to contemplate the ruinous consequences of easy applause.

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