Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair makes an acceptance speech to his constituency after being elected as their candidate for the forthcoming general election as his wife Cherie (R) watches at the Trimdon Club in Sedgefield, northern England April 10, 2005. (Reuters Photo)

    BEIJING, April 12 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair heralded the release of his Labour Party's election policies as campaigning hit full swing on Sunday and polls showed he was on track to secure a third term in power.

    "We will publish our manifesto this week," Blair told supporters in his home constituency of Sedgefield in northern England. "If you value economic stability you have to vote for it."

    Labour -- which had traditionally been viewed with suspicion by the business community for its spendthrift nature -- has won many plaudits for its modern economic record.

    It has notably achieved annual gross domestic product growth of 2.75 percent on average since 1998.

    "Labour has provided macro-economic stability which Britain hadn't had for 25-30 years" prior to its re-election after 18 years of Conservative rule.

    British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour party held the lead in three pre-election polls commissioned by Sunday newspapers.

    Labour's manifesto will focus on continued economic stability, driving unemployment down further and investing in public services, while restating its accusation that the Conservatives would cut public spending by 35 billion pounds.

    Blair said on Sunday education remained his priority and pledged more teachers, free pre-school education, an end to high-fat, unhealthy school meals and a drive to get children fit.

    Meanwhile, the Conservatives claims it is going into battle for Britain on immigration, tax and crime. The Conservatives' proposals include more police, greater spending on health and education and modest tax cuts.

     Britain's parliament does not have proportional representation - a system in which seats are distributed based on the overall vote breakdown nationwide.

    Instead, each of Britain's 646 electoral districts sends one lawmaker to the House of Commons. Whoever wins the most votes in each district gets the seat, and the party that gains the most Commons seats forms the government.

    It sounds simple, but it makes for a complicated political equation - one that experts agree is currently skewed against the Tories.

    Analysts predict that even if both parties win an equal share of the vote, Labour would still have a Commons majority of 50 seats. Enditem

(Agencies)