Blair's urged left-wingers not to return to in-fighting

Mr Blair warned left-wingers not to return to the in-fighting which kept the party out of power for 18 years.

He told Labour's National Policy Forum at Warwick University that winning the next general election is within the party's power.

"We have that possibility within our grasp. We have come through an immensely difficult time," he added.

He said a return to confrontations within the party risked throwing away Labour's dream of a third term.

Confrontation

Despite transforming the party over the years, Mr Blair said it now fostered dialogue rather than confrontation, bringing politicians together rather than dividing them.

The prime minister said that the party must give voters "a strong, clear and personal offer for the future".

Women's expectations have changed but their pay is still stuck in the 1970s Julie Mellor Equal Opportunities Commission

During the conference, Mr Blair announced the creation of a commission on women and work.

He pledged to give all women a better deal in the workplace.

Julie Mellor, chairwoman of the Equal Opportunities Commission, said she was "delighted" by Mr Blair's announcement.

"Recent high-profile discrimination cases show that women's expectations have changed but their pay is still stuck in the 1970s," she said.

Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt, who is also the cabinet minister for women, said the gender pay gap was a "key priority" because "women had the right to expect a fair deal in the labour market."

But Theresa May, shadow secretary of state for the family, said Mr Blair was "only offering yet more warm words and platitudes".

"Establishing a commission that may take many years to report will not disguise the fact that Tony Blair's government has failed to deliver on its commitment to quality in the workplace," she added.

'Tragic deaths'

Mr Blair also praised the creation of two million extra jobs but said greater flexibility in the workplace should not mean illegal employment practices, referring in particular to the Morecambe Bay tragedy.

"It shouldn't mean people trafficking and it should never again mean the tragedy of people dying scratching cockles from the ground for a few pounds a day.

"We believe in flexibility and we believe in decency too," he added.

BBC political correspondent Terry Stiastny said: "This is Tony Blair trying to rally the party faithful as they go into the process of trying to draw up the manifesto going into the next election."

Labour suffered a setback when it lost its Leicester South seat to the Liberal Democrats.

And the Butler Report criticised the way the intelligence was presented in the September 2002 government dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Tony Woodley, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union, welcomed Mr Blair's speech but he called on the government to concentrate on workers' rights.