Treasury chief appears to have lock on Blair job

LONDON (AP) -- Gordon Brown's only challenger for the leadership of the Labour Party pulled out of the race Wednesday, making the Treasury chief a lock to succeed Tony Blair as Britain's prime minister.
Member of Parliament John McDonnell, a former trade union official, announced he was quitting because he did not have enough support to qualify for the contest.
Brown's campaign manager, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, said his team was delighted that the party was uniting behind Brown.
Officials for Brown, 56, said he would make a statement today after a formal announcement by the party.
"Naturally, I congratulate Gordon and wish him every success in government, but it is a great shame that Labour Party members will now not be allowed a vote on the leader of their party or the party's future direction," McDonnell said. "I had hoped by standing I would have given them a voice in this crucial decision."
Brown now has six weeks to prepare to replace Blair, who departs June 27.
The pair had been the principal architects in the Labour Party's 1997 ascension to power after 18 years in the wilderness, but the relationship cooled in recent years as Brown's ambition to take the top post created tensions between two.
Blair who had said he would complete a full third term, was forced this year by dissatisfied lawmakers to announce he would be leaving his post two years earlier than expected.
Brown, if he becomes party leader, will face a difficult challenge from the resurgent Conservative Party and its popular young leader David Cameron before national elections likely in 2009.
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