BLAIR OUTLINES PARTY VISION

Tony Blair has highlighted Labour's economic record - saying prudence
and stability would continue to be the party's watchwords if they won
a second term in office.

"This is a Labour Party that will enter an election ready and waiting
to fight on the economy," Mr Blair told nearly 3,000 delegates at
Labour's spring conference in Glasgow.

The prime minister also promised a drive against drug dealers and to
give new fathers the right to paternity leave paid for by the
government But he warned against voter apathy - accusing the Tories
of trying to foster cynicism among the public.

Mr Blair began his speech by praising Chancellor Gordon Brown for
delivering economic stability.

He told delegates: "Today the government can be proud of a hat-trick
of good economic news - the lowest unemployment for 25 years, the
lowest inflation for 30 years, the lowest sustained interest rates
for almost 40 years."

Mr Blair added that Labour was "ready and waiting to say to the
British people, 'If you give the Tories the chance of power all this,
every bit of this economic good news will be thrown away'."

Paternity Care

In the first of two key policy announcements, Mr Blair confirmed
government proposals for providing paid paternity leave.

"Because a child needs the loving care and attention of both parents
and because fathers want to share the joy and the burden of looking
after a child, we will introduce for the first time the right to
paternity leave paid for by the government not the employer."

The prime minister also promised to get tough on criminals who deal
in hard drugs.

"The idea we are now considering is to create a register of hard drug
dealers - give courts the power to order that someone coming out of
prison who they think will end up dealing again be put on the
register.

Then the police must be informed of all changes of address,
suspicious transactions can be cross-checked, the dealer is on notice.

"It is a new weapon in the battle against the dealers.

"We want Britain to be the hardest place in the world to be a drug
dealer." Mr Blair then turned his fire on the Conservatives, saying:
"I have never known the Tory Party so poorly led, so intellectually
shallow.

"Mr Hague, Mr Portillo and Miss Widdecombe running the country - if
that doesn't mean you putting on your coat and going down to the
polling station, nothing will." Mr Blair scorned Tory leader William
Hague, saying he had his opinions delivered "by the paper boy".

He also accused the Conservatives of having a "backdoor strategy"
adding: "It is cynicism. It is to say that nothing ever changes, all
politicians are the same, everything about the country is wrong."

But Mr Blair's speech brought a swift reaction from shadow cabinet
office minister Andrew Lansley.

"There's a simple reason why people are cynical about Labour," said
Mr Lansley. "It's because Mr Blair has broken his promises on tax,
health, law and order and education and has failed to deliver."

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy also said Mr Blair must
accept his share of the blame for any apathy among voters.

"His government was elected on a promise of things can only get
better when the reality has been nothing of the sort for many
people," he said.