TONY BLAIR has set himself an ambitious agenda for government. If he sticks to it, the coming weeks and months will include the following highlights
. May 8th: First meeting of the Labour Cabinet. On the same day, Mr Blair is expected to meet the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste in London to discuss Northern Ireland.
. May 14th: The Queen's Speech will outline Labour's legislative programme for the new Parliament.
. June 6th: Mr Blair will attend a meeting of the Party of European Socialists in Sweden. They hope Mr Blair's leadership will usher in a period of greater co-operation with Britain in the European Union.
. June 16th and 17th: Mr Blair will attend the Amsterdam EU summit to take part in intergovernmental negotiations on the Treaty of Rome. The summit will mark the first test of the new government's attitude to EU matters. Labour has pledged to sign up to the Social Chapter.
. July: Labour policy in Northern Ireland will come under the spotlight if the stand-off at Drumcree is repeated this summer. A possible summit is mooted between Mr Blair and President Clinton.
. Autumn: Labour has promised referendums on devolution for Scotland and a Welsh assembly. In the proposal for Scotland a separate endorsement will be sought to create a Scottish parliament with limited tax-raising powers.
. Further constitutional reform - a Bill of Rights, incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic British law, removing House of Lords voting rights from hereditary peers, and changing the electoral system - will be pursued vigorously, it is said.