Blair seeks ‘voting majority’

TONY Blair and Gordon Brown yesterday appealed for a “voting majority” to put them back in Downing Street as all British parties tried to steer the election agenda away from Iraq.

The two maintained their united front, urging Labour voters not to desert the party, while Tory leader Michael Howard said “wider issues” were now at the forefront of voters’ minds.

The Liberal Democrats highlighted their policies for pensioners, promising to lift one million out of means-testing, as leader Charles Kennedy sought to re-assure floating voters that supporting his party would not let the Tories in “through the back door.”

Mr Brown and Mr Blair campaigned together in Wales, after jointly unveiling a new Labour poster on the economy in London.

The Chancellor told supporters in Barry Memorial Hall: “I believe there is a majority in this country for stability and for low mortgage rates. And let that not be a silent majority.

“Let it be, in this constituency and every constituency in this country, a voting majority.

“There is a majority in this country for full employment, the New Deal, the minimum wage. Let that not be a stay-at-home majority, let that be a voting majority for Labour.

“There is a majority in this country for investing in our schools and hospitals, and for fairness to pensioners and hardworking families. Let that not be a sit-it-out majority, let that be a voting majority, a majority for Tony Blair.”

Mr Blair said: “If people believe that it is not sensible to put the Conservative Party in, then they are going to have to come and vote to make sure it does not happen.”