LONDON, Nov 23: British Prime Minister Tony Blair put tackling crime and terrorism at the heart of his re-election bid on Tuesday, drawing accusations of scare mongering like those levelled at US President George Bush.
Outlining legislative plans for the next parliamentary session, expected to be curtailed by a vote in May, the prime minister unveiled measures to keep Britain's streets safer and protect the country from terror attacks.
The focus on security, in what effectively was Mr Blair's draft election manifesto, is a bid to beef up his Labour's Party's credentials on issues of prime concern to Britons where the main opposition Conservative Party has traditionally done well.
"My government recognizes that we live in a time of global uncertainty with an increased threat from international terrorism and organised crime," said Queen Elizabeth as she read Mr Blair's proposals to parliament in an elaborate ceremony.
"Measures to extend opportunity will be accompanied by legislation to increase security for all," she said. While polls put Mr Blair well on track to win a third term, surveys also show that Britons have yet to feel the benefits of a string of anti-crime measures.
"This is an area of vulnerability (for Labour) and Blair wants to take pre-emptive action to outflank the Conservatives," said Wyn Grant, a politics professor at Warwick University.
The government plans to introduce identification cards and set up a British version of the FBI, the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It proposed tougher sentences for drugs and alcohol offenders and animal rights extremists who break the law. Mr Blair also pledged to tackle the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction - his justification for invading Iraq.
"CLIMATE OF FEAR": More controversial anti-terror bills - such as plans to use phone tap records in courts or for specialist courts without juries to try terror suspects - did not feature in the Queen's Speech, but may form part of Labour's election pledges next year.
Mark Oaten, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, accused the government of creating a "climate of fear" to scare voters - the same charge Democrats levelled at Mr Bush in the run-up to his re-election.
"In the run-up to a general election, both the home secretary and prime minister are starting to talk up issues of fear and crime," he said. "The warning shot to them should be not to play politics with terror."
Critics also say many anti-crime measures erode civil liberties. Highlighting security at home also takes the focus off Iraq, an issue over which Mr Blair is vulnerable to events on the ground, analysts said. -Reuters
