Blair on 'pop star farewell tour', says Cameron

David Cameron will accuse Tony Blair today of acting like a pop star on a farewell tour as he demands the Prime Minister bring forward his 27 June departure date.

The Tory leader will criticise the paralysis in the Government caused by the Prime Minister's "long goodbye". At a London press conference, he will say Gordon Brown, who will succeed Mr Blair, should take over sooner rather than later.

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Mr Cameron will argue that the handover is "a farce" in which Mr Brown wanders around the country with nothing to do and Mr Blair travels the world "indulging his vanity".

He will say: "In this country, we don't do 'farewell tours'. Tony Blair was elected to be Prime Minister of our country, not a pop star. We cannot afford week after week of decisions being made that could be reversed, ministers in posts who could be removed, civil servants not knowing who's in charge, and Parliament not being able to hold the Government to account properly."

He will also question the point of the outgoing Prime Minister discussing long-term policy with ministers who may not keep their jobs under Mr Brown or attending summits days before he quits.

But Mr Cameron faces awkward questions about his party's education policy amid a controversy over his decision to drop its commitment to create more grammar schools. Critics include members of his Shadow Cabinet.

Mr Cameron, who backs the retention of existing grammar schools, said: "This is a key test for our party. Does it want to be a serious force for government and change, or does it want to be a right-wing debating society muttering about what might have been?"