Blair admits ‘rough ride’
Tony Blair has admitted he faces a “very rough ride” pushing through new reforms, in the wake of the government’s recent defeat in the Commons.
But the prime minister firmly believes he was right in seeking powers to let police hold terrorist suspects for up to 90 days without charge, and said he is determined to press ahead with new proposals on schools and hospitals.
“I am sorry because the terrorist threat we face is not imagined,” Mr Blair wrote in today’s News of the World, after suffering his first parliamentary defeat in more than eight years in power.
He said that he and his senior ministers had to “work at it” to get its programme of reforms through parliament.
The prime minister’s comments follow the rejection of new terror plans on Wednesday. The 90-day proposals were defeated by 31 votes, with 49 Labour MPs rebelling against the government.
The Commons instead backed a compromise to extend the detention time limit for terrorist suspects from the current 14 days to 28 days.
But Mr Blair says he is not prepared to back down over planned public service reforms despite this setback and opposition from some Labour MPs.
He said that “more needs to be done if we are to meet our ambitions for this country and its people”, and suggests that the government’s reforms will target education, hospital waiting times, pensions and welfare benefits.
“All of this will require more difficult decisions and strong leadership….but there is no doubt it will be worth it if, as a result, Britain is better, fairer, and stronger,” he wrote.
Mr Blair will launch a campaign this week to gather support for the government’s schools white paper.
