PM must step aside now, says Major

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Comparing Mr Blair's final weeks with the two-year farewell tour of an Australian soprano, he told the Guardian: "He is in the middle of the longest farewell since Dame Nellie Melba quit the stage.

"It's known that the present prime minister is going; it's certain who will be replacing him; I can't see any reason for delay - it is not a presidency."

Sir John, who was ejected from Downing Street in the 1997 landslide that brought Mr Blair to power, said a rapid changeover was "constitutionally desirable".

Congratulating Mr Brown on becoming PM-in-waiting, he warned: "As chancellor he didn't have to peace-keep between the warring factions in his party, as prime minister he will.

"I will watch with interest."

The former PM and the next one are both appearing on Saturday in separate events at the Hay Literary Festival in mid Wales.