Blair urges open debate on future

Has warned his party not to look back in anger

Tony Blair says he wants to end "coded" criticism of his government and have an open debate on Labour's future.

Writing in the Guardian, the prime minister says renewing the party is vital but tells critics to look forward in hope, not "look back in anger".

He says he will not lead Labour into the next election but will do all he could to ensure a fourth term.

Mr Blair is under fire after Charles Clarke said the prime minister's authority was in doubt.

The prime minister argued that his critics knew what they did not like but could not offer a "viable programme for government".

Defending his government's record, he says: "If others feel they're not the right policies, and some clearly do, let us debate them openly and candidly.

"That's my point. The time for coded references and implied critiques is gone."

Slick PR?

Mr Blair says: "At the heart of this account of 'renewal' lies a recognisable narrative - the myth of betrayal.

"The fact is that this Labour government has a better record than any of delivering its manifesto commitments does little to dent the myth.

"It lies less in the reality of policy than in an exhaustion with the hard work of being the ruling party."

Mr Blair says Labour is now facing an opposition "more determined to win".

But he argues that although David Cameron's Conservative Party has a "slick PR strategy" they always "flunked" any real-life policy decision.

He insists that it is "the best of times" but he questioned whether it was also the worst.

He lists some of his government's achievements on the economy, employment and public services and argues that Labour is the only party to offer a "serious policy agenda", from pensions to public service reform.

And although he acknowledges that some disillusion will inevitably accompany a long period in power, Mr Blair says he wants to expose a "strategy of pessimism with which our opponents intend to defeat us rather than to fall in with it".

Barriers

Labour must renew based on the "big idea behind New Labour: that economic efficiency and social justice are entirely compatible", says Mr Blair.

"In my view renewing the Labour Party means taking further what we've done, putting more power in the hands of the service user - power based not on wealth but need," he writes.

"I want to see the public sector become truly enabling, not controlling, breaking up monopoly provision, extending choice and voice, eliminating old barriers that restrict the creativity of the frontline."

And in a message to critics who say his government tinkers and legislates too much, he argues: "As well as investing in Sure Start, the New Deal and extended schools, we need to complete a radical reform of the criminal justice system that focuses on the offender, not simply the offence and the rights of the victim.

"On welfare reform we need to go further with the principle of new entitlements matched by higher expectations.

"Our foreign policy must be interventionist, internationalist, multilateralist - and above all driven by our values."

Timetable to go?

Mr Blair says public service reform must combine "ambitious national standards with diversity of providers and giving citizens new choice or a stronger voice in shaping those services".

The article comes as Mr Clarke, sacked by Mr Blair in the May reshuffle over the foreign prisoner debacle, voices his anger at his removal.

The former home secretary said he was not sure Mr Blair could recover his authority and leadership after recent events.