British Prime Minister Tony Blair will stay in power for another year, a close ally said on Tuesday, while a leaked memo¹ detailed² plans for a "farewell tour" that would see Blair take his leave like a "star".

The comments by Environment Secretary David Miliband were widely seen as having been authorized³ by the prime minister in an attempt to quell⁴ a growing rebellion by members of his Labour Party who are demanding he give a timetable for leaving office.

Prime minister for nine years, Blair has said he will not seek a fourth term and will give his successor - expected to be finance minister Gordon Brown - ample time to settle in before the next general election, expected in 2009.

Although some Labour members of parliament were satisfied by the assurance, many others were not.

A draft letter calling for Blair to set an exit date was reported to be circulating and to have enough support from Labour legislators to suggest Blair could face a leadership challenge if he did not heed⁵ it.

Blair's office denied having received the letter.

"The conventional wisdom is that the prime minister sees himself carrying on for about another 12 months," Miliband told BBC radio.

Blair's popularity has plunged⁶ after a series of government scandals over sleaze and mismanagement, as well as controversy⁷ over the Iraq war. Opinion polls put Labour well behind the opposition⁸ Conservatives.

Despite intense pressure, Blair, 53, has refused to say precisely⁹ when he will go.