Tory poll lead 'not worrying' PM

Mr Blair said it was important to make the 'right decisions'

Tony Blair has said it would be "odd to get worried" about opinion polls suggesting the Conservatives have a strong lead over Labour.

The Independent newspaper said Labour's support was at 29%, 11 points behind the Tories, who would get a "100-seat" Commons majority on the figures.

But, speaking at his monthly press conference, Mr Blair said his party had "the right policies for the future".

Labour had often enjoyed poll leads in the 1980s but lost elections, he added.

'Ample time'

Mr Blair, asked whether his remaining in office would damage the chances of his successor at the next election, said: "There will be ample time for my successor to do what they think is right.

"It would be odd to get worried about mid-term polls."

He also said: "I just remember in the 1980s when we were hammering the Tories... and we had these policies which at the time weren't really thought-through and worked out.

"And when you got closer to an election it all changed because people then had a choice."

Mr Blair said: "If you take the difficult decisions and they are the right decisions then it pays off in the end."

He added: "You'd expect to have a situation like this when you're midway through a third term. It's just that the Labour party and the Labour government has never experienced that before."

Mr Blair has said he will step down as prime minister later this year, with Chancellor Gordon Brown the strong favourite to succeed him.

The CommunicateResearch survey for The Independent suggests for Labour is unchanged since last month a 29%, with the Conservatives up six points to 40%.

Support for the Liberal Democrats fell by four points to 17%, the poll of 1,001 people added.

An ICM poll last week suggested David Cameron-led Tories would have a 13-point lead over a Gordon Brown-led Labour.

* CommunicateResearch telephoned 1,001 adults between 23 and 25 February. The data was weighted to take account of expected turnout and party identification for those who declined to say how they would vote.