Blair to go by next year if defeated on reforms

The newspaper reported that aides were not saying Blair was "threatening" to quit but instead wanted a "stable and orderly transition" to his widely-tipped successor, finance minister Gordon Brown.

"This is not a threat. It is just the reality," one "Blair ally" was quoted as saying. "There would be no bitterness. If people don't want him to continue, so be it. But they have to decide what kind of government they want."