TONY BLAIR will today use Labour's manifesto to unveil his 10-point personal contract with the British people. The message is clear. His word is his bond.
The manifesto, said to be New Labour through and through, puts education at the top of Labour's list of priorities in Government.
The Labour leader will declare he takes responsibility for the manifesto's promises, will be judged on how they are kept, and will not duck the blame if they are not. The buck stops with him.
The 16,000-word manifesto only promises what Labour can deliver, it was said yesterday. It does not promise the earth, and the promises have been fully costed.
The foreword to the manifesto, written by Mr Blair, says the people of Britain can unite behind change and the Labour Party, and blames the cynicism about politics and politicians on the Conservatives. The 10-point contract is described as ''his bond of trust with the people''.
He says he believes in Britain, a great country with a great history. ''The British people are a great people, but I believe Britain can and must be better,'' he says. ''I want a Britain that is one nation with shared values and purposes, where merit comes before privilege for the many, not the few.''
He admits the Conservatives got some things right, such as their handling of the trade unions and the spirit of enterprise, but they got a lot wrong - the boom and bust economics, their handling of education, the running down of the health service.
Labour will save what is right, change what is wrong, he promises. It will move forward.
The 10 points signed by Mr Blair are:
1. Education will be the number one priority. ''We will increase the share of the national income spent on education.''
2. Taxes. ''There will be no increase in the basic and top rates of income tax.''
3. The economy. ''We will proved stable economic growth with low inflation and promote dynamic and competitive business and industry at home and abroad.''
4. Jobs. ''We will get 250,000 youngsters off the dole and into work.''
5. The health service. ''We will rebuild the NHS, cut red tape, and increase spending on patient care.''
6. ''We will be tough on crime and on the causes of crime. It will halve the time it takes to get persistent young offenders into court.''
7. The welfare state. ''We will lay the foundations of a modern welfare state in pensions and community care and help build strong families.''
8. The environment. ''We will safeguard the environment and develop an integrated transport system to fight congestion and pollution.''
9.''We will clean up politics, decentralise political power throughout the United Kingdom, and put the funding of political parties on a proper basis.''
10. ''We will give Britain the leadership in Europe Britain and Europe need.''
Mr Blair's claim that education is Labour's number-one priority was rejected last night by Conservative Party chairman Brian Mawhinney.
In a 10-point rebuttal of the Labour leader's 10-point mani-festo, Dr Mawhinney said if that was the case why did so many Labour-controlled local education authorities have such poor results? He also claimed Lab-our's plans for a Scottish parliament would break up the UK.
Labour's #30bn spending commitments would require higher taxes and borrowing, for business a Labour government would mean a rise in trade union power, and tens of thousands of young people would be put out of work through the minimum wage and the Social Chapter, he said.
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