Blair: Taking aim at Howard

Tony Blair has called on his party's members to help make a third term Labour government a reality.

Speaking at the Welsh Labour conference in Swansea, the prime minister defended his record in government but said there was more that could still be done.

He warned the public against voting for a Conservative "nightmare" and warned that supporting the Liberal Democrats or nationalists would let Michael Howard into Number 10.

Blair said that New Labour had made progress in areas such as unemployment, the minimum wage and reducing poverty.

"Our task though, isn't finished. It isn't finished because there is still so much to put right, here in our own country and abroad," he said.

The prime minister pointed to African poverty, the Middle East peace process and climate change as areas where action is still needed.

"No Labour government has ever won two full successive terms," he said.

"No Labour Party has ever been in the position of discussing the prospect of a third successive victory.

"Sometimes the problem with progressive politics is that people have strong and good beliefs but can underestimate the difficulties, the struggles, the challenges of power.

"But if we really do believe in what we've achieved so far, and if we believe in what we can achieve for our country in the future, we've now go to ally those principles to an organisation and a drive to make that third term becomes a reality."

Two choices

Blair said the choice facing voters are the election was between Labour and the Conservatives.

"People can opt out of it by voting Lib Dem or nationalist," he said.

"But there is not going to be a Lib Dem or nationalist government. Not in their dreams. Not in our nightmares.

"But the worst nightmare of all is the return of a Tory government under Michael Howard."

The prime minister said he wanted to "go further on the journey to a different, fairer, stronger better country".

But the Tories would cut £35bn of public spending and damage key services, he said.

"They attack and are designed to attack the whole ethos and values of collective services free to all on the basis of need not wealth.

"There is so much more at stake than many yet know.

"This coming election is far more fundamental than the country yet realises.

"The £35 billion is not a political spat. It is a prism through which two futures can be seen.

"One is a future in which the economic stability, the growth, the employment, the investment in public services of the past eight years continues and is deepened.

"The other is a return to where the Conservatives left off in 1997. 'Forward not back' is not a slogan. It is a competing vision of Britain and we will have to fight as we never have fought before to ensure that forward vision wins.

"The Tories want this debate to go away.

"But I have to warn you this party will be out from now till polling day, spelling out the reality at what £35 billion taken out of our spending plans for Britain would mean."