UK's Blair braced for crucial pitch to angry party
( 2003-09-30 09:32) (Agencies)
British Prime Minister Tony Blair faces one of the toughest speeches of his career on Tuesday, trying to ride out anger among his party's activists over Iraq and convince them he is still an asset.
Blair, aides say, will promise his Labour Party's annual conference to listen more to rank-and-file concerns but will refuse to abandon controversial public sector reforms.
Nor will he show any regret for Britain's role in toppling Saddam Hussein, telling his restive followers they should be proud Iraq was on a path to a brighter future.
The premier knows he must make a strong pitch to party and public, demonstrating that his government is not adrift after more than six years in power.
He will seek to steer debate back onto domestic ground -- the slow-to-materialize improvements to schools, hospitals and policing that he promised at the last election.
But ongoing turmoil in Iraq will cast a long shadow.
"You can overstate these things, but this is a very big moment for the prime minister," one loyal parliamentarian said.
Labour's annual conference comes as the party suffers from its worst poll ratings since Blair became leader in 1994. A poll on Sunday showed 41 percent of Labour members want Blair to resign before the next election.
For years Blair, who delivered power to his party after 18 long years in opposition, only had to stand up to receive tumultuous applause from his followers. This year will be very different.
Polls show most Britons no longer trust him following the failure to find any banned weapons in Iraq, Blair's main justification for a war most in his party implacably opposed.
IRAQ WAR 'A DISASTER' -- COOK
Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, who resigned over the war, told delegates at a fringe meeting that it had been a "first class political disaster."
Many party activists would prefer a government led by finance minister Gordon Brown, a man they believe is more faithful to the party's socialist roots.
In a heavily loaded speech on Monday, Brown said the party needed "not just a program but a soul" and that the opposition Conservatives would be beaten not by imitation but by "Labour reforms grounded in Labour values."
"Trust has been lost. My own view is that it won't be regained," former Cabinet minister Clare Short said. "It would be better for Tony...if he went voluntarily."
Grassroots members are furious they may not get a vote on Iraq, but even on the home front Blair faces a rough ride.
Trade unions, his party's traditional bankrollers, have forced votes this week on controversial plans to reform hospital care and provision of pensions in old age.
Blair, his allies say, is invigorated and ready for the fight. As the conference opened, he pledged to fight for a third election, expected in 2005, and stay for the whole term.
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