Blair's long goodbye

PM praises Brown as 'remarkable man' but aims to stay on for nine more months after Labour accords him rapturous reception

Tony Blair won a rapturous response from the Labour Party faithful with an inspired farewell address that he hopes will enable him to remain in Downing Street for another nine months.

The Prime Minister began his intended "long goodbye" by warning Labour that it would lose power unless it kept up the pace of his reform agenda.

In his 13th and final speech to Labour's annual conference as party leader, the Prime Minister fired a powerful parting shot, urging his party not to retreat to the "comfort zone" which consigned it to 18 years of opposition before 1997.

Mr Blair hopes the enthusiastic response he won from emotional Labour delegates will give him the breathing space to remain in power until next July.

It is believed that he intends to delay a six-week Labour leadership contest until after the May elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and English councils, with his successor being installed in July. To answer charges that the Government will be paralysed until he departs, Downing Street has drawn up a list of 39 issues in Mr Blair's in-tray on which he will receive regular reports.

He will make "security" the centrepiece of the Queen's Speech in November, with new laws on migration, organised crime and antisocial behaviour. He will also make the Middle East peace process a personal priority.

But Mr Blair's apparent desire to hang on for another nine months will worry some Labour MPs, including supporters of Gordon Brown, who want a new leader in place before the May elections. Mr Brown does not want to take over just before MPs - and many voters - start their summer holidays, which might limit a "bounce" in the polls.

The Prime Minister's preferred timetable will also fuel suspicions among Mr Brown's supporters that Mr Blair intends to play a long game to allow a cabinet-level challenger to emerge to take on the Chancellor amid growing doubts among Labour MPs that Mr Brown could beat David Cameron at the general election.

In yesterday's speech to the Manchester conference, Mr Blair praised Mr Brown but stopped short of endorsing him as his successor or repeating the public handshake with him after the Chancellor's address on Monday.

The Prime Minister sought to move on from the alleged coup by Brown supporters three weeks ago. "I know New Labour would never have happened and three election victories would never have been secured, without Gordon Brown. He is a remarkable man. A remarkable servant to this country,' he said.

A conciliatory and witty speech was written largely by Mr Blair himself rather than his usual team of speechwriters. He defused with humour the row over the alleged outburst by his wife Cherie on Monday that Mr Brown told a lie when he said it was a privilege to work with the Prime Minister. "At least I do not have to worry about her running off with the bloke next door" he quipped.

Mr Blair mounted a passionate defence of his Government's record since 1997 but offered no concessions to critics of his stance on Iraq and Lebanon.

His main message to his party was that his reform programme must continue after he stands down to meet the new challenges facing Britain. "If we fail, and without change we will, then believe me: change will still be done; but in a regressive way by the Conservative Party."

But he accepted that it was right for him to stand down and told his party its future was in its own hands although he would be watching from the sidelines.

"The truth is, you can't go on for ever. That's why it is right that this is my last conference as leader.Of course, it's hard to let go. But it is also right to let go. For the country, and for you, the party."

He promised to see through planned changes but declined to spell out his departure timetable, as critics had hoped. His aim, he said, was to build "a unified party with a strong platform for the only legacy that has ever mattered to me - a fourth-term election victory that allows us to keep changing Britain for the better".

Mr Blair declared: "I love this party. There's only one tradition I hated - losing," he said. "I don't want to be the Labour leader who won three successive elections. I want to be the first Labour leader to win three elections.

"So: you take my advice, you don't take it. Your choice. Whatever you do, I'm always with you. Head and heart: You are the future now, so make the most of it."

Despite the ecstatic response and a standing ovation lasting more than seven minutes, Mr Blair may come under renewed pressure to quit sooner rather than later when MPs return from their summer recess next month. John McDonnell, a left-wing MP who will oppose Mr Brown for the leadership, said: "At some point he is going to have to give us more of an indication of the timescale of when he's going. But let's hope that's coming in the next few weeks."

But even some hardened critics admitted he had produced a masterly performance in his farewell speech to the conference.

Derek Simpson, general secretary of the Amicus union, said: "The audience loved it and if there was anyone in any doubt about voting Labour they may have been swayed by the speech. It was a brilliant performance. He has delivered his exit speech."

Tony Woodley, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union, said: "Love him or loathe him that was a leader's speech."

Election odds

Tony Blair's warmly received farewell speech prompted bookmakers to lengthen, rather than shorten, the party's odds of winning the next general election. Bookmakers Coral said the speech only served to emphasise the "gulf" between Mr Blair's appeal and that of his potential successors. They moved Labour's odds of victory in the poll from 7-4 to 2-1, while cutting the odds on David Cameron's Conservatives to 1-2 from 7-4. Liberal Democrats remain 100-1 outsiders.