Blair looks forward to change

Tony Blair has called for more reforms to public services and urged Labour to tackle the challenges posed by globalisation in his keynote speech at the Labour Party conference.

Echoing Chancellor Gordon Brown’s statements on Monday about the continuation of New Labour policies, Mr Blair said: “New Labour was never just a clever way to win. It was a fundamental re-casting of progressive politics so that the values we believed in became relevant to the time we lived in.

“In the late 20th century the world had changed. The world is on the move again. So now, in turn, we have to change again. Not step back from New Labour, but step up to a new mark a changing world is setting for us.”

During his speech, Mr Blair touched upon plans to further improve the NHS, education and transport and highlighted new social, economic and environmental policies.

On the subject of crime, Mr Blair said that crime was being fought with 19th Century "Dickensian" methods and that this system had become a problem in trying to fight 21st Century crime such as drug dealing, binge drinking and anti-social behaviour.

Mr Blair said: "The whole of our system starts from the proposition that its duty is to protect the innocent from being wrongly convicted.

"Don’t misunderstand me. That must be the duty of any criminal justice system. But surely our primary duty should be to allow law-abiding people to live in safety. It means a complete change of thinking. It doesn’t mean abandoning human rights. It means deciding whose come first."

Mr Blair said that he would be seeking a "radical extension of summary powers" for police and local authorities and that proposals to do this would be published "before the end of the year".

The Prime Minister also promised more police "on the beat" in local communities and that young people would be given places to go to take them off the streets.

He also said that he wished to see an end to the "farce" of "half a dozen agencies" all of which were involved in helping problem families.

Turning to terrorism, Mr Blair said that politics, not terror was the answer. Denouncing recent calls for Britain to leave Iraq, the Prime Minister said the answer was not to withdraw. He said eight and a half million Iraqi people had voted in the January elections and shown what future they wanted. He said the only way to stop innocent deaths was to "stand up for their right to decide their Government in the same democratic way the British people do."

Mr Blair also highlighted the successes of Labour’s historic three terms in government. He said: “There is only one Government since the war that has cut unemployment, created 2 million more jobs, had eight years of growth without recession and halved interest rates from the previous Government.

“And cut waiting lists in hospitals, improved cancer and heart care, achieved the best ever school results, halved the number of failing schools, seen a five-fold increase in the best ones; achieved record numbers of police and cut crime. Only one Chancellor to have delivered that economic record. This one. Only one Cabinet to have delivered these changes. This one. Only one Government to do it all. Your third term Labour government.”

Mr Blair also praised the completion of IRA arms decommissioning on Monday. He said: “It has taken many years, and a lot of hard work, but every minute of every hour of every all-night negotiation will have been worth it if it brings lasting peace to Northern Ireland.

“And there is a lesson from Northern Ireland. Nothing good comes easy. And in government, whatever the noise around you, you just have to persevere with the things that really matter.

Mr Blair concluded: “Let ours be the party, the one with the values of social justice, equality, fairness, that helps Britain turn a friendly face to the future.”

(KMcA/SP)