BRIGHTON, England - Prime Minister Tony Blair won the backing of his Labour Party on Thursday to keep British troops in Iraq, avoiding a humiliating defeat that would have undermined his premiership.

Although resentment over the war still simmers among delegates, Blair emerged from his party's five-day convention scratched but intact, and looking ahead to national elections expected next year.

Still, the event did not go exactly as scripted for Blair, who shifted in his seat on the conference podium as Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott launched a thinly veiled attack on President Bush, Blair's closest overseas ally.

"Whatever country it is, the people of the right are never concerned about the majority. They are only ever concerned about the few," Prescott said in his closing address. "That's true on this side of the Atlantic or on the other side." He did not mention Bush by name.

Labour members voted overwhelmingly on a show of hands to support the government's position that its troops were in Iraq with the backing of the United Nations and the agreement of the interim Iraqi government.

More than 85 percent of delegates voted to overturn a grassroots motion that demanded Blair set an early date for withdrawing British troops. A defeat would not have altered government policy but would have been an embarrassing blow to Blair, who has battled to unite his party and focus on winning a third term in power.

"I know that there are those in this party and in our country that opposed our intervention in Iraq. I respect their opinion," Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon told the conference in a closing day debate on Britain's role in Iraq. "But whatever your views, we must now work to defeat terrorism. Now is the time to unite, to help the Iraqi people rebuild their country, their economy, their way of life."

Hours after leaving the conference, Blair announced that he was scheduled to undergo a medical procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat, calling it a routine treatment that won't prevent him from seeking another term in office.

He underwent a successful operation Friday and was recovering at home, a hospital official said.

Simon Wilde, a spokesman for Hammersmith Hospital in west London, also said Blair would have a "rapid and complete recovery" and there was a low risk the problem would recur.

"The procedure was successful in eliminating the atrial flutter," Wilde said.

Medical experts said the 2½-hour operation, carried out under local anesthetic, was a safe, routine procedure. Aides have stressed that Blair will be back at his desk Monday and intends to go ahead with a planned trip to Africa on Tuesday.

"I think today our thoughts are with Mr. Blair, with his family and with the recovery that everybody hopes that he has from this operation," Treasury chief Gordon Brown told the British Broadcasting Corp. from Washington, where he is attending the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund.

Blair, 51, looked relaxed as he was driven away from his Downing Street residence, accompanied by his wife, Cherie, in an official car at about 7:05 a.m. Friday. He told reporters he felt fine.

Blair's condition is called supraventricular tachycardia. It is caused by rapid electrical activity in the upper parts of the heart and results in a sometimes irregular, rapid heartbeat.

The procedure involves inserting a catheter through the groin and up to the heart, where radio-frequency energy is used to kill off the cells conducting the extra impulses.

The British Heart Foundation said the condition, which may be accompanied by shortness of breath, dizziness or fainting, can be distressing for the patient but is not considered serious.

"Many people experience them at some time, even if they have no evidence of heart disease," spokeswoman Cathy Ross said.

President Bush, Blair's close friend and ally, sent his best wishes.

"The president's thoughts and prayers are with prime minister. He wishes him a speedy recovery," White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he prayed for Blair's "quick and full recovery, so that you can continue your brave efforts toward making the world a better place for all of us."

His announcement Thursday that he would serve a full third term followed months of speculation that he intended to step down midway through it and pass the baton to Brown.

"If I'm elected I would serve a third term," Blair said. "I do not want to serve a fourth term, I don't think the British people want a prime minister to go on that long but I think it's sensible to make plain my intention now."