Blair successor urged to pursue independent foreign policy

Britain's anti-war movement is appealing to the ruling Labor Party to select a replacement to Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will pursue an independent foreign policy.

"There is no issue more important than the disastrous Iraq war, and no question on which the British people are more anxious to see a change of policy," the Stop the War Coalition (STWC) said in a petition, based on an open letter to the new prime minister.

"We urge you on behalf of millions of British voters to withdraw British troops from Iraq no later than October 2007," the petition said.

It also called on Blair's successor to pursue a foreign policy independent of the administration of the United States of America and declared that Britain will not participate in any military conflict with Iran.

The STWC, whose president is former veteran Labor cabinet minister Tony Benn, said it was inviting all Labor representatives and party officials to endorse the petition ahead of electing Blair's replacement in the next few months.

The campaign comes amid reports that the firm favorite Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has already gained the support of over 60 per cent of Labor's 355 MPs to back his nomination as new leader.

According to the Guardian newspaper Saturday, Brown has gained the backing of 217 MPs, with only 35 refusing to nominate him and a further 93 undecided.

The overwhelmingly positive response from MPs suggests the chancellor is "on the verge of obliterating any opposition" to his bid to replace Blair after he steps down from power in the next few months.

Any challenger needs the endorsement by a minimum of 44 Labor MPs to go forward as a candidate in a ballot held by a electoral college of parliamentarians, party members and trade unions.

So far, only former Environment Secretary Michael Meacher and left-wing backbencher John McDonnell have declared their intentions to stand in a contest, but the support claimed by Brown's campaign team suggest that the election may turn to be just an endorsement.