THE constitutional timetable was organised yesterday so that the Queen was able to get to Epsom to see her horse finish a gallant second in the Vodafone Oaks.
Tony Blair arrived at Buckingham Palace at 11am - nearly an hour and a half earlier than he did after the 1997 election - and was asked to form a government. This allowed the Queen plenty of time to be driven the 12 miles to Epsom to watch her horse, Flight Of Fancy, in the 3.55pm race. Flight Of Fancy had been strongly fancied to give the Queen her first win in one of racing's classics for 24 years.
She arrived at the course more than an hour early and took a close interest as the filly was saddled by its trainer, Sir Michael Stoute. Flight Of Fancy, ridden by Kieran Fallon, pictured above right, was overhauled in the final furlong by the Irish challenger, Imagine, despite royal encouragement.
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Blair goes to Buckingham Palace for Queen's endorsement(Yahoo: Reuters)
By Dominic Evans
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair bulldozed his way to a historic second term today and William Hague promptly fell on his sword to make way for a new Tory leader.
Blair went to Buckingham Palace to have his premiership endorsed by the Queen and is now expected to turn his mind to creating a new Cabinet lineup.
Pundits were caught short by the speed with which Hague threw in the towel after seeing his Conservative Party crushed once more at the polls. But the scale of the Tory defeat left Hague few other options and he said he wants a new leader in place by the autumn.
"I believe it is vital that the party be given the chance to choose a leader who can build on my work. I have therefore decided to step down as leader of the Conservative Party when a successor can be elected in the coming months," Hague said outside Conservative headquarters on a sun-drenched Friday morning.
He spoke hours after Blair coasted to a second successive landslide despite the lowest voter turnout since World War One, leaving the once-mighty Conservatives in disarray and the LibDems in fighting form.
With nearly all seats decided except 18 in Northern Ireland, which will call their results later today, Blair is embarking on a new five-year term with a majority of about 165 in the 659-seat House of Commons.
This marks a slight dip on Labour's 179-seat margin in 1997, when they inflicted the Conservatives' biggest loss for a century and a half. That win ended 18 years of Conservative rule, under first Margaret Thatcher and then Major.