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04/04/2005
Blair postpones election call as mark of respect
Tony Blair has postponed naming the date for the next General Election, as a mark of respect for the Pope, it has been reported.
It was believed that Mr Blair would go to Buckingham Palace today to ask the Queen to dissolve parliament for a General Election on May 5. However, it is now expected that he will call the General Election tomorrow.
If the election is called tomorrow, this would be the last week of parliament, with MPs and peers likely to stop sitting on Thursday, before parliament is formally dissolved on Monday.
The main political parties have also suspended election campaigning for the election out of respect for the Pope.
Mr Blair will attend a special Vespers for the Dead service in memory of the Pope at Westminster Cathedral this afternoon. Conservative leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy will also be attending the service, which will be led by Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.
Mr Blair, who met the Pope in 2003, said that he "radiated warmth and kindness" and was revered by people of "all faiths and none".
Mr Kennedy described the Pope as "a pivotal presence on the international stage". He said: "He will be remembered with deep affection and reverence by the countless numbers of people whose lives he touched and influenced."
(KMcA/SP)
It was believed that Mr Blair would go to Buckingham Palace today to ask the Queen to dissolve parliament for a General Election on May 5. However, it is now expected that he will call the General Election tomorrow.
If the election is called tomorrow, this would be the last week of parliament, with MPs and peers likely to stop sitting on Thursday, before parliament is formally dissolved on Monday.
The main political parties have also suspended election campaigning for the election out of respect for the Pope.
Mr Blair will attend a special Vespers for the Dead service in memory of the Pope at Westminster Cathedral this afternoon. Conservative leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy will also be attending the service, which will be led by Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.
Mr Blair, who met the Pope in 2003, said that he "radiated warmth and kindness" and was revered by people of "all faiths and none".
Mr Kennedy described the Pope as "a pivotal presence on the international stage". He said: "He will be remembered with deep affection and reverence by the countless numbers of people whose lives he touched and influenced."
(KMcA/SP)
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