Westminster meltdown. Tony Blair dresses as a piece of toast

A casualty of Bush's war.....

Tony Blair today faced an implosion of his authority after seven government members resigned in protest at his refusal to publicly name a departure date.

After today's Sun claimed Mr Blair would resign as Labour leader next May and step down as PM in July, a junior minister and six parliamentary private secretaries quit in rapid succession on a day of high Westminster drama.

Although all seven resignations were from junior posts, the fact that each MP had been a loyal Blairite led the Conservative leader, David Cameron, to claim the government was "divided and in meltdown".

[...]

The chancellor, Gordon Brown, was spotted leaving the rear of Downing Street earlier today after what was reported to be an angry and uresolved conversation with the prime minister.

Unlike in previous crises, there was a conspicuous lack of cabinet ministers taking to the airwaves to defend the prime minister.

[...]

In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Mr Watson wrote: "It is with the greatest sadness that I have to say that I no longer believe that your remaining in office is in the interest of either the party or the country."

The PM hit back at the junior minister, calling him "disloyal, discourteous and wrong" for having signed the letter.

In a statement, he said: "I had been intending to dismiss him, but wanted to extend to him the courtesy of speaking to him first. Had he come to me privately and expressed his view about the leadership, that would have been one thing.

"But to sign a round robin letter which was then leaked to the press was disloyal, discourteous and wrong. It would therefore have been impossible for him to remain in government."

It looks like Watson figured that out on his own.

After his performance of jumping on the Bush bandwagon over Iraq and allegedly selling peerages for "loans" to the Labour Party, it's difficult to feel sorry for the prep-school puppy.

In fact, it's impossible.

Yo, Blair! Try to keep your desk tidy and don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

H/T Cat