Blair under pressure to go

Blair, who was celebrating his 53rd birthday Saturday, has pledged to step down before the end of his third term, which is due to expire by May 2010 at the latest, but has so far resisted calls to set an exact date.

This may change, however, as a letter is reportedly circulating around MPs in the governing Labour Party warning the prime minister to lay out his succession plans or face a leadership challenge.

The letter has already attracted some 50 signatures and The Guardian newspaper said that lawmakers plan to publish it, possibly by the end of next week, if Blair fails to comply.

The developments came after the prime minister sacked his home secretary, demoted his foreign secretary, took powers off his deputy and juggled other key ministerial posts in a dramatic cabinet reshuffle on Friday.

The move was aimed at injecting new life into the scandal-hit government.

But critics say it will take more than hiring and firing largely the same group of ministers to regain the confidence of voters, who dealt the Labour Party a painful blow in local election across England on Thursday.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Brown, the man seen as most likely to replace Blair, admitted the results were a "warning shot" from a frustrated electorate.