LONDON, April 3: British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday delayed the announcement of upcoming elections, expected to take place on Monday, and will be attending a religious memorial for Pope John Paul II, his office said.“The prime minister will be attending vespers at Westminster Cathedral tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 pm,” Downing Street said.

A spokeswoman said he would “not be going to Buckingham Palace tomorrow” — a reference to a first procedural step before calling a new election of asking Queen Elizabeth II to dissolve parliament.

The Labour leader had been widely expected to announce on Monday that a general election would be held on May 5.

Downing Street did not say the death of the pope on Saturday was directly responsible for modifying the British leader’s schedule.

“It’s in response to speculation,” the spokeswoman said, referring to expectations that the dissolution of parliament would officially kick off an election campaign that has unofficially been under way for weeks.

Blair, though an Anglican, attends mass with his Catholic wife Cherie and has visited the pontiff at the Vatican.

Under British election rules there must be at least 17 working days between the dissolution of parliament and an election.

If Blair were to make the announcement on Tuesday, and the queen to dissolve the parliament by the end of the week, the expected May 5 date could still be maintained.—AFP