LABOUR leader Tony Blair sought yesterday to portray himself as the

champion of the family, insisting that the preservation of family life

must be at the centre of social policy.

The Tories have long advanced themselves as the party of the family,

but Mr Blair appeared yesterday to be turning his back on some

left-of-centre points of view and trying to steal the Conservatives'

clothes.

He continued his attempts to set a new agenda for the Labour Party as

he emphasised the importance of social co-operation and partnership,

trying to create a strong, united society which backed up individual

effort.

Family life was where children learned the basics of decent behaviour

and responsibility, he said, adding that it clearly was better for

children to be brought up in a stable environment with two parents.

''Is it better that kids are brought up with two parents? The answer

plainly is yes,'' he said.

His remarks were a clear reflection of the fact that both Labour and

the Conservatives are now engaged in a battle for voters in the middle

ground of the British political spectrum.

He combined his comments with a renewed attack on the Government's

handling of the economy, but was accused by Mr Michael Heseltine,

President of the Board of Trade, of coming up with a ''flow of

oil-smooth platitudes''.

Mr Blair said the growing band of single parents -- and particularly

their children -- should not be stigmatised for a plight very few would

have chosen for themselves. But he added that families should be helped

to stay together by providing better education, training, and job

prospects.

The modern welfare state, he argued, must recognise the need for

better child care and nursery education when more women were going out

to work.

''The family is important because it is the social unit where people

learn the boundaries of decent conduct and behaviour and where people

are brought up,'' he told the Walden television programme.

''The Government can't intrude into people's homes, and governments

don't raise children -- families raise children. I would like to see us

create a society in which people recognise their obligations both within

the family and the broader community.

''There is a limit to what public policy can do, but it is important

we recognise the family as the essential, stable social unit and we

attempt to do whatever we can to allow the family to develop in that

stable framework.

''We have to move away from this old argument from a left-of-centre

perspective where people didn't understand that, when we are talking

about society and community, that is where we begin.''

Mr Blair again refused to be drawn on Labour's tax plans, though in

another appeal to the middle-class vote, he made clear last week he

would not ignore the plight of those people on average earnings who were

now paying top rate tax under the Tories.

His argument was that Tory policies had led to high unemployment, with

its enormous social and economic cost, and that just getting people back

to work would free millions of pounds of taxpayers' money for other

uses.

He claimed Government tax increases had put the equivalent of 7p on

the basic rate.

Mr Blair said: ''I am not happy with the tax and spend label given to

the Labour Party when we are the ones who have the policies to put the

country back on its feet.''

The Labour leader was also asked about weekend reports that he was

leaving the door open for Labour to support a referendum on further

European integration. He said he would wait to see what the next

inter-governmental conference came up with in 1996, but in the meantime

was ruling nothing out and nothing in.

An opinion poll in the Sunday Telegraph showed that Mr Blair was

enjoying a honeymoon period with the voters, with 61% saying he would be

a better Prime Minister than Mr Major.

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