PM 'must say when he will quit after 4 May'

In an attempted fightback after a string of bad headlines for the Chancellor, senior members of his camp are blaming the Prime Minister for the party's poor standing in the polls.

Mr Blair gave his full support to Mr Brown yesterday in the row over the 1997 pensions tax rise and praised his colleague as an "amazing" Chancellor.

But a rash of criticism of Mr Brown has fuelled the belief among key supporters that he is suffering from Mr Blair's failure to give up the reins of power.

It emerged today that some in the Brown camp privately believe anti-Blair feeling is so high among voters that the Prime Minister will face calls on 4 May to announce his resignation, if Labour loses the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and town halls across England.

"It is far worse on the doorsteps than it was 12 months ago, and it's not just Iraq that is doing the damage," said one minister.

"The feeling against Tony is so strong we can't afford to wait around. He may want to stay on a bit longer, but things will move quickly."

Mr Blair has told allies he wants to delay any announcement-about his departure until 9 May, the day after the Northern Ireland peace process is completed with the resumption of power-sharing between Sinn Fein and Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party in the Stormont Assembly.

But close allies of Mr Brown are impatient for the handover and said the PM-in-waiting will need all the time he can get to repair the damage.

Blairites point out that the Prime Minister cannot be forced into a snap resignation because Labour's ruling NEC has agreed there will be a seven-week delay while the deputy leadership contest takes place.

Mr Brown faced fresh criticism yesterday after Britain appeared to give way to the French over the British rebate from the European Union.

The Tories accused the Chancellor of "selling Britain down the river" in a "sneaky" deal.

Since December 2005, Mr Brown has been in dispute with the other EU nations over how to implement a deal on the rebate struck by Mr Blair when he negotiated the EU's £580billion seven-year budget.

Britain conceded on the issue yesterday in exchange for an agreement to help reduce VAT fraud. Until recently France had blocked the changes proposed by British officials.

One EU diplomat said: "On the VAT fraud there will be a benefit for the Treasury. On the rebate there will be a reduction."