Brown to be PM 'sooner rather than later'

LONDON, April 12 (UPI) -- Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown will become British prime minister "sooner rather than later," senior Labor lawmaker Robin Cook suggested Tuesday.

Writing in the Evening Standard, Cook, who resigned from his post as foreign secretary over the Iraq war, said Prime Minister Tony Blair's increasing reliance on Brown in his bid for re-election is a sign his position is rapidly weakening.

The pair reportedly brokered a deal to present a united front in the campaign after long-running reports of a rift. Brown aides said the chancellor had insisted Blair publicly guarantee his job post-election, which Blair did last week. Since then they have rarely been apart, touring constituencies together to promote the economy.

Blair aides were until recently gloating over the post-election sacking of the chancellor, Cook said.

Now Labor has realized what poll after poll has been revealing, said Cook: that Brown is Labor's greatest asset while Blair has lost public trust.

It has long been predicted that Brown would one day take over from Blair. Cook said: "The first week of the election campaign suggests that day may come sooner rather than later."

Blair refused to respond to Cook's article.