The Government’s setback on the terror laws is a victory for political dogma over doing what is necessary at a difficult time. The laws have been drafted with the input of those who know best about the threat of terrorism, namely the police and security forces. If they say 90 days is necessary then that’s what should be put in place. For once, Mr Blair seems to be in touch with the general view that protecting the nation is paramount. The public is entitled to be sceptical when Parliament effectively votes for the short-term goal of removing Mr Blair, rather than making the country secure, and so politicians should not be surprised when electoral turnout is under 50 per cent. Howard Broadwell, Nottingham

Tony should go and he should take his party with him. Tony is exemplified more by the pusillanimous Home Secretary, a job's worth, the sort that Tony likes and promotes. Blair's backbenchers are now emboldened to revert to type, to be as quarrelsome a bunch of disputers that you are ever likely to meet. They should be fed Gordon Brown now or else they may decide that it is better to bring the party down than to suffer being lectured to any more. Malcolm Turner, Alsager, Cheshire

Why should Blair resign for backing a policy the majority of the electorate want? Do we not elect people to represent our collective view in Parliament? The people who should consider resigning are those who have put party politics before the safety of the public. This recent debacle is just another example of where Parliament has failed the people. Paul Pickering, Camberley

Better the Devil you know than the one waiting in the wings! David Michael, London

The point is whether or not he will leave with his work done and a disciplined party with a proper agenda to see it and its next leader to and beyond the next general election. He needs to sort out, before he leaves, things such as the burden of public employees' pensions on those of us not so well endowed, and other organisational matters re education and welfare which may be seen by some Labour voters as not necessarily to their advantage. He should go once these unpopular matters are dealt with. Unfortunately, because of this defeat, he may not be able to hand over in such an ordered manner. Don Pitman, Orpington

Mr Blair should go. He has proved himself untrustworthy and his Government incompetent. I made the mistake of voting Labour in 1997; I'll not do that again. Mr Blair has trampled roughshod over almost everything I care about or believe in. Sarah Marquis, London

Why this constant cry for Blair to leave? His party was elected fair and square at the last elections. His party elected him as the leader of their party. He himself has said that he will not be standing at the next election. Which means that he will be standing down sometime during the next three years. The only people who can bring him down earlier are his parliamentary colleagues. Why should they? What is it that they would like to do and are unable to get through at the moment? Vinay Mehra, Purley, Surrey

It is time for Tony to go. He is probably the best politician this country has had in terms of style, charisma and oratory, but the years of power have made him autocratic. He thinks we are all stupid and that he knows what's best for us. From our cradle to our grave he has plans to nurture us as children, control our youthful exuberance, teach us what to think, not how to learn, and finally to plan every aspect of our lives to make us all standardised Britons in his image. He has lost touch with reality, a most dangerous thing in a leader. He should move on. Dudley Holley, Thorpe Bay

No, Tony Blair was clearly in tune with the public and I am disgusted that the Tory Party, for which I voted, refused to back him or the police on this issue. Clearly. these rebels are drunk with success and may now refuse to back him on reforms for which they were voted into power, putting forward their own agenda. They are betraying the people who voted for them. Alan Kneller, Southampton

The only people who should consider resigning their position are those politicians of all parties who voted against the 90-day detention period. Tony Blair - by no means perfect or the most able leader of the last 100 years - is by far the best qualified and proven politician to lead this country at the present time. The fact that he stood by the advice of those people responsible for the security of our community demonstrates a degree of commitment and leadership which other would-be leaders - such as the two Davids - should consider very seriously if they wish to gain the trust and respect of the voters. Even if later events prove that the 90-day period was excessive, to ignore the collective and unanimous advice of the men at the top of our police force would have been irresponsible in the aftermath of the London terrorist attacks. Keith Downer, London

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