UK: The British Conservative Party leader, Mr Michael Howard, has signalled he intends to make Mr Tony Blair's record on trust and accountability a central issue in the Westminster general election expected next summer.
In a low key but highly personal first speech to conference as leader - short on rhetoric and surprisingly detailed on policy - Mr Howard made his pitch to "floating voters" with tough new policies on crime, Europe and immigration, and an action plan for government delivering in health and education and for Britain's pensioners and "hard-working families."
With "dirty hospitals" a clear Conservative target, Mr Howard told the story of his mother-in-law's untimely death as a result of a hospital infection two years ago. And he joined battle with Mr Blair on the domestic political agenda with a promise to build more prisons, recruit more police and offer drug addicts a choice between prison and treatment.
Buoyed by multi-millionaire Mr Paul Sykes's decision to withdraw his funding of the United Kingdom Independence Party, Mr Howard urged UKIP voters to "come and join" the Conservatives as he promised in effect to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership of the EU.
Mr Howard warmed his audience with a pledge that he would cut taxes when he could, while making it his priority that a Conservative government would never again break tax promises.
A reference to "a false prospectus" underlined Mr Howard's sharpest attack yet on Mr Blair's handling of the Iraq war. Mr Howard repeated his view that "it was right to go to war" and that "the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein". However, he asserted: "In the run-up to the war, Tony Blair did not tell the truth. He did not give a truthful account of the intelligence he received.
Then he added: "I hope we will not face another war. But the world is a very dangerous place, and you can never be sure. What if this prime minister asks people to trust him again? Could the British people trust him a second time?" Calling for "a new approach to Europe", Mr Howard said a Conservative government would no longer try to stop other European partners seeking further integration.
But he insisted: "We must have something in return. We want to bring powers back from Brussels to Britain." He made it clear the Conservatives under his leadership would not be content simply with rejection of the new European constitution and the euro.
Pledging that his government if elected next May would hold a British referendum on the constitution before next year's party conference, Mr Howard delighted his audience as he shifted towards the effective renegotiation of Britain's terms of EU membership. "It is not enough to say No to the European constitution - though a Conservative government will.
"It is not enough to say No to the euro. It's time we went further. We want out of the social chapter, which is a threat to British jobs. We want out of the common fisheries policy, which is destroying communities. And we want more British aid to be distributed from London and less from Brussels. It's time to bring powers back to Britain."