Both together

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Tony Blair: You're not about to come and try from... [overlapping]... another direction are you?

Jon Sopel: No, the party would want to know this I'm sure. What role will you be playing in the local council elections, vital elections in Scotland and Wales, are you going to be leading the Party then?

Tony Blair: Well, I mean I'm – I've answered that on many occasions. I'm going to be working flat out to maximise the Labour Party vote. Of course I'm going to do that.

Jon Sopel: As Prime Minister and leader of the Party.

Tony Blair: Yeah, but I've – I mean, I've said that all, many, many times. But what is important is actually to make sure that we put forward good radical programmes in those elections.

In local government particularly for anti-social behaviour in dealing with some of the quality of life issues and Scotland and Wales of course, …erm…, to keep the economy strong and in Scotland particularly, to ward off separatism and you know, have a good strong Scottish agenda there, particularly on education.

Jon Sopel: Is it getting more difficult?

Tony Blair: What's getting more difficult?

Jon Sopel: Staying in your job.

Tony Blair: No! No, I mean it's not – why do you ask that?

Jon Sopel: Well because you've got lots of ministers that are campaigning against you. You've got people saying that the civil service is, this is...

Tony Blair: No I don't.

Jon Sopel: …this is not doing anything.

Tony Blair: But that's just to go, go back to the same thing, which is to say you know the government is not making any progress. In fact, part of the reason we have these difficulties is precisely because we are. And you know... what is the legislation we've got going through the House of Commons at the moment, this is the National Offenders Management Service Bill, huge change in the way we treat offenders. So I...

Jon Sopel: I just want to ask you...

Tony Blair: Yeah.

Jon Sopel: Very briefly, they've said that there's going to…, I've read that there's already a web site, “Blair Foundation.com”. Is that the sort of thing you might be doing after, when you leave?

Tony Blair: It's, it's, I know you'll be getting fed up with me for saying that is another question I'm not going to answer. Because if I start talking about what I'm going to do afterwards, well it's, you know, just gets in to a further difficulty. I mean I, I think that – who knows in the time to come, I know I'm the first Prime Minister that's ever said: “Look, you know, I'm not going to fight another election and I'm going to go at an age where I suppose, for many Prime Ministers, they actually enter the job, but I think you should just get used to that because I think over in the times to come – this is going to happen again and you might as well just, you know, let's, let's accept that the most important thing is to keep doing the best for the country in the time that remains”.

Jon Sopel: And Northern Ireland, because there's a vital … [unintelligible]

Tony Blair: Yeah, well I mean, actually when I was going through, thank you for reminding me, I was going through the list of issues, of course Northern Ireland is, is hugely important. I mean look, the really critical thing here and I know people say, well, you know, is this just another, you know, another deadline, another day?

I would say that the next few weeks will be as important as the negotiation of the original Good Friday Agreement, and the end of power sharing that happened back in 2002 because we will determine whether we have a basis for the future in Northern Ireland, that allows us both to have power sharing between Unionists and Republicans and Nationalists, really on a solid basis for the first time ever.

And have a situation where everybody in Northern Ireland supports, and supports properly the police, the courts and the criminal justice system. And that would be important fantastic thing, that would be instead of waking up as we used to years ago, …erm…, to, to, violence and terrorism in Northern Ireland, we have the prospect of peace.

Jon Sopel: Final question and I suspect I'm going to get a one-word answer or a very short answer. Is there anything you're looking forward to about not being Prime Minister?

Tony Blair: Yeah, lots but that's for me to know and you to find out at a later time.

Jon Sopel: Prime Minister, thank you very much!

Tony Blair: Thanks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk./1/hi/programmes/politics_show/6293605.stm ,

28.12.2007