Blair's targets

By 2010 university places for 50% of young people Double number of specialist schools to 1,500 New specialisms in science, engineering, enterprise Help youngsters accumulate assets Improve access to civil service jobs Reform solvency laws to encourage enterprise New equal pay drive

But the Conservatives denounced the speech as containing nothing new, the Liberal Democrats said it was "waffle" and teaching unions expressed concern at proposals affecting secondary schools.

The audience at a new school in north London heard Mr Blair set out what he called a "radical second term agenda" and New Labour's "second phase".

It is aimed at encouraging a meritocratic Britain through greater opportunities coupled, he said, with individual responsibility.

The speech was a clear attempt to focus public attention on what will be core Labour issues in the coming general election - and is sure to add to speculation around Westminster that the election is imminent.

Details of what is a 10-year plan for education reform, including an overhaul of the comprehensive school system, will be given in full next week.

Mr Blair also laid down what he called an "ambitious" target to increase the number of youngsters going to university by up to 20% over the next nine years.

Tony Blair spoke of his 'mission' for a second term

Initiatives designed to help students from less well-off backgrounds include an agreement secured with 27 universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, where 80% or less of students are drawn from state sector schools.

In exchange for government funding they will make a special effort to widen their intake - although there will be no quotas or lowering of standards, Mr Blair pledged.

Among other wide ranging reform packages signaled by Mr Blair will be one on crime, which he promised would "set out root and branch reform of every aspect of the criminal justice system".

And the NHS will be offered the opportunity for further expansion, there will be a new document on industrial policy and another on developing skills.

'Talent wasted'

On his core message, Mr Blair told the audience that the reforms of the Thatcher years had left too many excluded from opportunity and prosperity.

"There was no land of opportunity for all."

"As a nation, we are wasting too much of the talents of too many of the people.

"The mission of any second term must be this: to break down the barriers that hold people back, to create real upward mobility, a society that is open and genuinely based on merit and the equal worth of all," he said.

Mr Blair added that he was determined to set people free from the bonds of second-rate jobs, inadequate education, a passive welfare state and conservatism in the professions and civil service.

'Nothing new'

Shadow education secretary Theresa May said the speech was "just more of the same old spin" with no new ideas on delivering quality education for all.

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said: "The speech was full of doublespeak, waffle and oxymorons."

And Doug McAvoy, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said the government plan "ignores reality" and accused Mr Blair of setting targets without considering whether they were achievable.

The speech came the day after Mr Blair unexpectedly stirred the debate on the euro by announcing the government's intention to decide whether the economic conditions for Britain joining were right within two years of the next election.

The single currency is also sure to be a key campaign issue, with the Conservatives saying the election represents voters' last real chance to save the pound.