56% want Blair to go now as loans-for-peerages inquiry is set to lead to three charges

An ICM survey for the Sunday Express finds that 56% of voters are unwilling to wait for Tony Blair to go in the summer and want him to leave now.  43% of Labour supporters want him to go now.

Mr Blair's diminishing reputation has been further undermined by two more stories this weekend.

First is today's News of the World story that three people are set to be charged in the cash-for-honours enquiry.  They are Lord Levy and the Downing Street head of government relations, Ruth Turner, and also the businessman Sir Christopher Evans who faces a charge under the 1925 Honours (Prevention of Abuse) Act because of his lending to Labour.  Evidence from the Prime Minister's political secretary John McTernan "started the dominos falling," says the News of the World.

Meanwhile Welsh Tory MP David Davies is writing to the Prime Minister about yesterday's Daily Mail revelation that Tony Blair has bought a fifth house - meaning likely mortgage debts of £5m when the Blairs' current earnings could only justify borrowings of about £1.3m.  This is what Mr Davies tells The Sunday Telegraph:

"I find it astonishing that the Prime Minister feels the need for another house.  I don't believe he can afford them on the basis of his current salary, and I assume he must have secured the mortgage on the basis of future earnings.  I will be writing to Downing Street to find out what public funds, if any, are being spent on the house."

Comments

[Curly]

The damage being done to the Labour Party is bad enough, but the longer that this enquiry continues the more the reputation og Great Britain will become sullied, now I don't have much of a grouse with them, but for everyone's sake it would be better if the Blair's left Downing Street A.S.A.P.

[Matt Davis]

Please stay Tony, The Tories need you!

[Rudyard.]

Curly,let's hope the Bliars remove themselves completely out of the country.

Perhaps a whip round for one ways to Iraq or Afganistan?

[malcolm]

Curly, I disagree with you.The cash for peerages debacle does not harm the reputation of 'Great Britain' (I think you mean the UK),the responsibility lies with Blair and his coterie of cronies.The damage to reputations is theirs and only theirs.
It is for that reason that I'm quite ambivalent as to whether Blair stays or goes. If he is guilty, and I suspect he is, I would rather like him to still be the PM when charges are brought.A tawdry end to the tawdry new Labour project.
I suspect Cameron and Fox feel the same as they must know that calls from the Conservatives for him to step down make it much less likely that he will do so.

[Curly]

Malcolm, you are of course quite correct, it would be a lot more "entertaining" if Blair was still in office at the time when charges are brought, however it would be a very sad reflection on British politics, and would be seen as such outside of the U.K. An honourable man would step aside before circumstances overtook him.
As far as the Blair's income and property deals are concerned, perhaps they might like to market a new Celebrity Monopoly game, or sell the rights to T.V?