UK papers: 'Bloody nose' for Blair
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 Blair wins election, but voters deliver a verdict on the war in Iraq.
 British Prime Minister Tony Blair celebrates victory on Friday.
 British Conservative Leader Michael Howard thanks everyone in his re-election.
 Respect Party member George Galloway celebrates his election to parliament.
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's robust press reacted in predictable fashion to Thursday's re-election of Tony Blair's Labour government, with many saying the prime minister's reduced majority was a backlash to the war in Iraq and predicting his days at No. 10 Downing Street were numbered.
The Sun's headline on Friday called the results "A kick in the ballots" for Blair. On its inside pages, the tabloid screamed "Ouch... Blair gets a bloody nose in revolt by Labour voters."
The Sun is a traditionally right-wing paper but backed Labour's decision to invade Iraq.
One of its articles said the prime minister's majority "was slashed as the anti-war brigade turned nasty and voted for anyone but Labour."
"They blew a raspberry at his warnings that a vote for the Lib-Dems would let Tories in by the back door," it said.
"And they placed a giant question mark over his chances of surviving as prime minister for a full term."
The "bloody nose" analogy was also on the front page of the Daily Express, which backed the Conservatives in the election.
It's other headline declared: "Blair leadership crisis as voters desert him" and "It's a very unhappy birthday for the PM today."
Blair's victory coincided with his 52nd birthday Friday.
The right-wing Daily Mail reacted by saying Blair "paid a heavy price for his lies over Iraq last night as a voter backlash devastated his Commons," it said in the lead article.
"Michael Howard was vindicated as his controversial campaign strategy of hammering core Tory issues helped loosen Labour's eight-year domination of the House of Commons."
The banner headline on The Daily Telegraph, which also backed the Tories, declared: "Blair's majority slashed."
It said the prime minister has "suffered a serious backlash over the Iraq war, while the Conservatives showed the first signs of revival in their fortunes since 1992."
The Guardian, a left-leaning newspaper, declared "Labour's majority slides away," adding that Blair was returned to power "without the authoritive electoral mandate he had sought."
The paper said that as the results came in, "Gordon Brown's hopes of an early succession rose by the hour" -- a reference to the chancellor of the exchequer's long battle to grab the reins of power from his rival Blair.
