Blair congratulates Bush on presidential win

Wednesday, 3 November 2004 12:00 AM

The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has tonight congratulated George W Bush on his re-election as President of the United States of America.

Mr Blair said he looked forward to furthering his strong relationship with President Bush and working with him during his second term in office.

There was, he added, now a need to revitalize the Middle East peace process and tackle poverty in a world that was "fractured, divided and uncertain".

"We should work with President Bush on this agenda," Mr Blair said.

The Prime Minister also stressed the need for Europe and America to rebuild their alliance.

Democratic challenger John Kerry tonight conceded defeat in the 2004 US presidential election after a close finish.

Senator Kerry told supporters in Boston he had contacted Mr Bush to concede the state of Ohio and congratulate him on his victory.

But he had also spoken to Mr Bush "about the danger of division" in the United States and the "desperate need for unity".

Mr Bush, later in his victory speech in Washington, said America would "help the emerging democracies of Afghanistan and Iraq to grow in strength and freedom".

UK politicians are now considering the implications of four more years of George Bush's leadership.

Conservative Leader Michael Howard earlier in the day sent his "warmest congratulations" to Mr Bush, saying: "We look to the President to be a unifying force for those all over the world who share our determination to defend freedom. We look forward to working with the President."

Whilst the Liberal Democrat's foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell was less enthusiastic, stating: "President Bush's victory has been at the cost of a nation more deeply divided than it was even in the 1960s.

"Europeans must hope that his administration will be much more multilateral in character, and that he will act swiftly to rebuild the Atlantic partnership which is so vital to security", Sir Menzies said.

Including Ohio, Mr Bush now has 274 Electoral College votes, four more than needed for victory. Mr Kerry has 252 votes.

Mr Bush won just over 50 per cent of the popular vote - almost 4 million votes more than his Democratic rival

Although results are still awaited in New Mexico and Iowa, they cannot affect the outcome.

The Democrats had resisted intense pressure to admit defeat with delay ensuing after Mr Kerry's team said there were a considerable number of uncounted absentee and provisional ballots that could have swung the vote in his favour.

Officials project some 120 million Americans, or 60 per cent of eligible voters, have cast their ballots - up on the 50 per cent figure in 2000 when Mr Bush defeated Democrat Al Gore.

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