Blair seeks relaunch after Iraq woes

1.00pm

LONDON - Britain's Tony Blair has set out his vision for a third term in office in a bid to shift the spotlight onto domestic policies that win or lose elections and off the divisive war in Iraq.

Blair, who is expected to call a general election next year, promised "bold and far-reaching reform" of state-funded services as he also sought to counter attacks he has become a lame duck prime minister by setting a date for his own departure.

"The message is clear: press on with confidence; don't hang back in hesitation," Blair said. "Use the experience of the first two terms to drive through lasting change in the third."

Blair's speech on welfare reform comes a day before a report on Britain's looming pensions crisis is expected to warn the pensions shortfall is much greater than feared.

The pensions black hole is expected to be a key battleground in the election. The prime minister has pledged reform on pensions but said details of the plans, as well as policies on housing and public health, would come in the months ahead.

Blair later addressed his Labour Party parliamentarians and set out the dividing lines between them and the opposition.

The Iraq war split Britain and Labour and has eroded Blair's public trust ratings. Participants welcomed what they said was an "upbeat" message and said Iraq had not dominated the meeting.

But in a bid for party unity, Blair also warned of complacency. "Whatever the polls or people say, the next general election will only be won when it is actually won," he said.

Any respite from Iraq will be short-lived.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw faces a grilling by parliament on Tuesday following the beheading of British hostage Kenneth Bigley in Iraq and a report that concluded Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.

Polls put Labour on track to win the next election but violence in Iraq has blighted Blair's efforts to refocus on election-winning issues such as schools and hospitals.

Talk of a leadership battle and a feud between Blair and finance minister Gordon Brown has also hounded the prime minister.

Earlier this month, Blair sought to quash rumours about his future when he pledged to serve a full third term if Labour wins the election expected in May or June, but not stand for a fourth.

The opposition Conservatives plan to make trust a key plank of the general election battle. While they backed the Iraq war, they say Blair misled Britain over the reasons for the conflict.

Last week's Iraq Survey Group report contradicted Blair's pre-war assertion that Iraq had banned weapons primed for use and has inflamed political anger over the war.

And while most Britons do not blame Blair for Bigley's death but it gave fresh ammunition to his critics who say Britain should not have gone to war, that it was waged on a false premise and that poor planning has allowed an insurgency to flourish.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq