Scottish defeat leaves problem for Blair successor

By Katherine Baldwin

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Scottish nationalists committed to independence from Britain became the biggest party in the Scottish parliament on Friday in elections which left a political headache for Prime Minister Tony Blair's successor.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) ended 50 years of Labor dominance in Scotland in Thursday's vote and Labor suffered heavy losses in local council elections in England and lesser losses in elections to the devolved Welsh assembly.

With Blair expected to announce next week he is stepping down as prime minister after a decade in power, he leaves a poisoned chalice to finance minister Gordon Brown, the 56-year-old Scot who is almost certain to succeed him.

Brown must wrestle with the problem of how to revive support for the Labor Party, whose popularity has slumped because of opposition to the Iraq war, a series of political scandals and a general sense of voter fatigue with the party.

Added to that he could now face the tricky problem of managing relations with a Scottish executive dominated by the SNP which has pledged to hold a referendum in three years on independence from Britain.

"This is a historic moment," SNP leader Alex Salmond said. "The Labor Party has no moral authority left to govern Scotland".

Brown received one piece of good news on Friday when one of his last potential rivals to succeed Blair as Labor Party leader and prime minister announced he would not stand.

"I am not going to run in the leadership election," former interior minister Charles Clarke told the Times newspaper. He said he had considered a challenge but believed there was no appetite in the party for a divisive contest.

His decision leaves Brown only likely to face a challenge for the leadership from one of two left-wing Labor lawmakers.

PROTEST VOTE

In English local council elections, the opposition Conservatives, resurgent under new leader David Cameron, won around 875 council seats, inflicting heavy losses on Labor.

Blair said the results were far from a rout and gave Labor a "perfectly good springboard" for the next general election, expected in 2009.

The Conservatives took 40 percent of the national vote, reinforcing their credibility as a party that could challenge for power at the next general election.

Labor, a staunch supporter of Scotland's 300-year-old union with England, has attacked the SNP's referendum plan.

Brown said the vast majority of Scots had voted for a Scotland "that maintains its rightful place in Britain".