MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tony Blair's Historic Landslide Election Victory.

As Labour Party Prime Minister, Tony Blair, celebrated his Government's historic re-election in the United Kingdom with another landslide majority only slightly down on their 1997 victory, the main Opposition Party Leader, William Hague, announced his resignation to allow a new leader to rebuild his shattered Conservative Party.

The other main opposition party, the Liberal Democrats, led by their new leader Charles Kennedy, are also celebrating with bigger representation in the new House of Commons, with their best result since 1929.

A small anti-Europe Party campaigning for UK independence made virtually no impact. The Scottish Nationalists and the Welsh Nationalist Party Plaid Cymru remain more or less unchanged in Scotland and Wales, where Labour held their ground and the Conservatives again did badly.

After four years in power, the Labour Party has won an unprecedented second full term in office for the first time in its long history, with a commanding majority slightly down at about 167 in a 659-member Parliament.

One worrying factor is that it was the lowest voter turn-out since 1918, the year the First World War ended. Only about sixty per cent bothered to vote, a reduction of 12 per cent, resulting from a combination of apathy about politics in general, and the acceptance that another big Labour win was obvious, as predicted by their consistently huge lead in the opinion polls.

Tony Blair went back to his office in Downing Street at the start of a busy day, and made a courtesy call on the Queen at Buckingham Palace, as he continues to remain Primed Minister and begins choosing his Cabinet and other ministers.

He said the people had given them an historic mandate to continue their work, based on a strong economy, with pledges of big improvements to the health service, education, law and order in the fight against growing crime, and better transport services, with increased numbers of doctors, nurses, teachers and police officers.

William Hague, aged 40, has been leader only four years since John Major's resignation after his defeat in 1997. Announcing his resignation, Mr Hague said it would allow a new leader to take fresh initiatives, rebuild the party and seek wider public support in the country.

Euro Referendum Looms as Next Big Political Issue

The most radical decision facing the Labour Government is when to call a nation-wide referendum to allow the British people to choose to join the European Union currency system, abandoning the pound sterling for the Euro.

William Hague was severely