Kick Him Out Now

Blair makes a plea bargain:

"I would have preferred to do this in my own way," Blair said, as he conceded that the party's annual conference this month would be his last. Next year's conference is scheduled for September 2007.

He refused to set a specific departure date, saying, "The precise timetable has to be left to me and has to be done in the proper way."

Blair appeared to have struck a deal with his expected successor, Treasury chief Gordon Brown, who signaled his support in a statement minutes before Blair spoke to television cameras at a north London school.