BRITAIN: UK prime minister Tony Blair will today throw down a challenge to critics within his own Labour Party by insisting that faster reforms of public services are essential for economic survival.
Mr Blair, struggling to regain momentum after one of the most torrid periods of his premiership, will tell business leaders he will press on with the modernisation of schools and hospitals. The message comes before a parliamentary vote next week on education reforms that are opposed by scores of Labour lawmakers and that only survived an earlier vote thanks to the opposition Conservative Party.
"Continual modernisation is the only way public services in the 21st century will survive the constantly rising and changing demands and expectations of the public," he will tell the Confederation of British Industry. "The key question facing the government . . . will not be whether to abandon public service reform but just how fast it can be driven."