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Blair braces for backlash as England votes in local polls

LONDON (AFP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair braced for a voter backlash at local elections across England that could end up forcing him to name the day he will stand down from office.

Polling stations in London's 32 boroughs and in other urban centres around England opened at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) on the sunniest and warmest day of the year so far, with first results expected a few hours after they close at 10:00 pm.

Analysts predict that after nine years in power, Blair's governing Labour Party is set for a pounding after being recently buffetted by a sex scandal, the non-deportation of foreign convicts, a cash-for-honours furore and draining public confidence.

Poor results in the race for 4,361 out of 19,579 local council seats could push Blair into a cabinet reshuffle, with ministers most closely implicated in the crises -- all key allies -- most likely to get the chop.

Poor local election results would send a signal to Blair and NuLab that the electorate are not happy with their government but then again when has Blair payed any attention to what ordinary people think?

He was a bit of a idiot for giving a date when he would leave office and then backpeddling on it a couple of months later.

Blair and his government have turned into a bunch of corrupt, deluded, shambolic, authoritarian, warmongering fools.