Right-leaning newspapers have been clamoring for Blair to go for days, but Monday The Guardian, long seen as the institutional voice of the center- left, joined the chorus. "Nine years is long enough," it said. "There is no excuse for foot-dragging, no excuse for trading on the patience of his party, the country or his successor."

The latest "cash for favors" row to hit Blair's government blew up after it was disclosed rich businessmen had been nominated for seats in the House of Lords, upper house of parliament after lending the Labour Party cash to bankroll the 2005 election campaign.

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Most big political parties in Britain depend on loans and Blair did not break any law by not declaring them. Under current rules only donations to parties have to be made public.

But what irks some Labour lawmakers is that their party treasurer and some senior ministers did not know about the 14 million (HK$190.75 million) received, fueling allegations that Blair's inner circle was running a secret slush fund. In response to the furore, Lord Falconer, minister for constitutional affairs, said the government would review the law on loans for party funding.

"It's important that we make sure there are proper protections in place," he told the BBC. "That is why we are proposing today that we use the bill that is currently going through parliament in order to amend the law about loans."

Blair said he would not fight a fourth election, due by mid-2010, before winning his third term in 2005 - albeit with a slashed majority, partly due to opposition over the war in Iraq. But most analysts expected him to stay on for several years to push through his public service reform agenda and then hand over to Brown shortly before the next election.

But he is already fighting a rebellion within party ranks over a school reforms plan: the bill only passed a key hurdle in parliament last week thanks to opposition Conservative Party votes when 52 Labour lawmakers rebelled. The loan spat is seen more damaging than the party revolt because Blair pledged to be "whiter than white" when he arrived in office in 1997 and because he is personally involved.

"This is far more dangerous to Blair than whether or not he had to rely on Conservative votes for the education bill," said John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University. "It's too close to him."

The loan scandal is also hurting Blair in the opinion polls. A YouGov survey published Sunday put his approval rating at 36 percent, the lowest since he came to power.

Polls released Sunday showed Labour was still ahead of the Conservatives, despite a revival under new leader David Cameron.

REUTERS