British Prime Minister Tony Blair outlines the Labour Party election manifesto in London. Blair confirmed that he would step down as leader of the Labour Party after a possible third term in office.(AFP photo)

    BEIJING, April 14 -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled his party's election manifesto on Wednesday and, unusually, twinned the announcement with a pledge that he would step down as leader of the Labour Party after a possible third term in office

    "I have said that this is my last election. At the election following there will be a different leader," Blair told an audience of reporters at a London conference hall after unveiling his party's manifesto.

    "I have said I will serve a full term. That's what people are electing if they elect this government," he said.

    The Labor manifesto's promises included a pledge not to increase income taxes and to maintain Britain's economic growth. Among other things, it pledged to expand high school and job training opportunities for teenagers and to crack down on knife and gun crime.

    The economy weighs heavy in the 112-page platform. Blair said Britain was "better, stronger and fairer" than it was when he first took office in 1997.

    The party also pledged to rebuild and refurbish all secondary schools and lift the number of young people in higher education by 50 percent by 2010.

    On health, one of the top issues of the campaign, Labour promised to build 100 new hospitals in the next three years. 

    Immigration, another leading electoral topic partly because of Conservative calls for a clampdown, would be subjected to strict controls, and the number of asylum seekers granted refuge would be reduced, Blair said.

    Hoping to benefit from Blair's drop in popularity, the Conservatives are due to screen what is believed to be the first cinema advert in an election campaign, which is aimed at wiping the smile off Blair's face.

    A new poll suggests Labour is on course for a comfortable victory May 5. The MORI survey published Wednesday put Labour at 39 percent, 4 percentage points ahead of the Conservatives, and with the Liberal Democrats at 21 percent. MORI interviewed 1,973 adults between April 7-11. A margin of error was not given. 

    But the fallout from the war and faulty British intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction continue to bedevil Blair. Enditem

(Agencies)