Hazel Blears has followed Jacqui Smith in resigning from the cabinet, following the MPs expenses row.
The Communities Secretary had been under fire over her expenses and was tipped for the axe in a reshuffle expected after European and English local elections on Thursday.
The timing of her resignation, on the eve of the European and English local elections, appeared to be increasing pressure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown, which, according to some observers had left him "fighting for his political life".
On Tuesday, news emerged that the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Tom Watson, a government minister and key Brown ally, will also stand down, fuelling further speculation about the prime minister's authority being undermined.
Brown pressure after Blears quits
Gordon Brown is becoming a dead man walking. With the country in the midst of an economic crisis, the parliamentary expenses scandal still unfolding, leading to widespread disillusionment with the major political parties, and cabinet ministers joining the queue of MPs lining up to spend more time with their families, his government appears to be unravelling before our eyes.
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