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BLAIR LAUNCHES BATTLE FOR TRUE EQUALITY Tony Blair today told Labour the class war was over - but warned the struggle for true equality had only just begun. The Prime Minister urged his party to join him in a crusade to tear down "the old elites, establishments that have run our professions and our country for too long". Mr Blair told Labour's centenary conference in Bournemouth the new battle was against the "forces of conservatism", wherever they might be in society. He made few policy announcements, but said �26 million would be spent introducing booked appointments and other improvements for cancer and cataract services. He announced plans for everybody to have access to an NHS dentist within two years by phoning the Government's NHS Direct phone line. Mr Blair confirmed plans for a crackdown on drugs, with testing for those arrested for criminal offences and a presumption against bail for addicts. He said funds would be made available to build up a nationwide DNA database to help track down criminals. He said he wanted 50% of all youngsters to go to higher education in the next century, and announced new discount cards for shops and cinemas for 16-18 year-olds who stay on at school. The hour-long speech won an enthusiastic reception from delegates and union leaders - but was attacked swiftly by the Tories. Mr Blair emphasised how much more Labour had still to do, saying the party was "halfway through one Parliament, nothing like halfway towards meeting all our goals". He said his aim was to "set our people free" by unlocking their potential. "Not equal incomes, not uniform lifestyles, but true equality: equal worth, an equal chance of fulfilment, equal access to knowledge and opportunity," he promised. "People are born with talent, and everywhere it is in chains." Speaking as up to 16,000 Countryside Alliance demonstrators marched outside the conference hall, the Prime Minister joked as he began his speech: "Here goes, tally-ho!" But, turning swiftly to outline his personal vision in a speech billed as personal and philosophical by aides, he declared: "Today I set out for you how, as a nation, we renew British strength and confidence for the 21st century and how, as a party reborn, we make it a century of progressive politics after one dominated by Conservatives."Making his third conference speech as Prime Minister, Mr Blair said his party was "now the new progressive force in British politics which can modernise the nation, sweep away those forces of conservatism to set the people free". He reminded his party it had been in power for only 22 years of its 100-year history. "We have never, ever won a full second term. That is our unfinished business. Now let us finish it." Mr Blair said he recognised people's disappointment that the pace of change had not been swift enough for them, but demanded: "Do you think I don't feel this, in every fibre of my body?" He stressed only continuing financial prudence could release the resources he promised to pour into schools and hospitals "in a way we can sustain year on year on year". The Prime Minister declared: "The class war is over. But the struggle for true equality has only just begun ... "It is us, the new radicals, the Labour Party modernised, that must undertake this historic mission to liberate Britain from the old class divisions, old structures ... "To be the progressive force that defeats the forces of conservatism. "For the 21st century will not be about the battle between capitalism and socialism but between the forces of progress and the forces of conservatism. "They are what hold our nation back." On crime, Mr Blair said he believed "in the liberty of parents to drop their kids off at school, without worrying they're dropping them straight into the arms of drug dealers". He repeated: "Ours is a moral cause." The Prime Ministers appealed for the Conservatives to support the Government in the Ulster peace process. "Don't make our task harder now, because that would be the real betrayal of the children of Northern Ireland," he said. On Europe, Mr Blair repeated his view that Britain's destiny lay in the EU and as a bridge between the continent and America. Transport and General Workers' Union leader Bill Morris said the speech, which won a three-minute standing ovation, was "a case of renewal and vision". But Tory chairman Michael Ancram said it "was a classic example of Labour hypocrisy". |
