BRITAIN: Tony Blair has combined his appeal for a third and final electoral mandate with a renewed pledge to "serve a full term" if Labour is re-elected on May 5th.
Speaking at the launch of Labour's election manifesto, Mr Blair answered repeated questions about his future leadership by insisting: "I've said I will serve a full term, that's what people will be electing." And he predicted that "New Labour" would survive into the next general election under a different leader while side-stepping invitations to confirm that that leader would be Gordon Brown.
The chancellor and the entire cabinet were on the platform for the launch of the manifesto, which puts economic stability at the heart of Labour's promise of ongoing reform of public services and repeats the party's now familiar pledge not to increase the basic or top rate of income tax.
The 112-page manifesto, however, says nothing about national insurance contributions, which Labour raised after the 2001 election to increase spending in the National Health Service.
Mr Brown insisted that all Labour's spending programmes were fully costed and provided for, while Conservative leader Michael Howard seized on a renewed warning by the International Monetary Fund that taxes would have to rise during a third Labour term. The chancellor said the IMF predictions were wrong as they had been before, and gleefully exploited the refusal of Mr Howard and shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin to rule out tax rises of their own.
Mr Blair indicated that his government would proceed to hold a British referendum on the EU constitution regardless of the outcome of referendums in other countries.
However, Labour's manifesto avoids any firm commitment to join the euro.
It says: "On the euro, we maintain our common-sense policy. The determining factor underpinning any government decision is the national economic interest and whether the case for joining is clear and unambiguous. The five economic tests must be met before any decision to join can be made. If the government were to recommend joining, it would be put to a vote in parliament and a referendum of the British people."
Other key commitments are to a low debt, high employment economy; the introduction of ID cards; increased spending on education; maximum waits of 18 weeks in the NHS; a 2 per cent inflation target to keep interest and mortgage rates low; two million extra home owners by 2010; an extra 10,000 social homes a year; an upgrade of primary schools nationwide and a refurbishment or rebuilding of every secondary school; 100 major new hospitals by 2010; a reduction in deaths from cancer by 20 per cent; more powers for the Welsh Assembly; completion of House of Lords reform; and strict controls on immigration and a reduction of asylum numbers.
Speaking alongside Mr Blair, Mr Brown said: "Our promise to the British people yesterday, today and tomorrow is stability and we will do nothing to put the stability and prosperity of British hard-working families and British business at risk."