BLAIR'S STARTER FOR 10; PM toasts decade as Labour chief.

Byline: By Paul Sinclair Political Editor

TEN years ago, after four successive defeats, it looked like the Labour Party couldn't win an election to save their lives.

Now, after a decade of Tony Blair's leadership, it looks like they couldn't lose one if they tried.

But as he celebrates 10 years as Labour leader, the polls make mixed reading.

More than half the country believe he lied over the war in Iraq. A similar number think the conflict was wrong.

But while a majority of voters might doubt Blair's integrity they still want him as Prime Minister. It shows just how strong Labour have become under his leadership, although his relationship with the party has changed in 10 years.

While Labour needed Blair to get elected then, now Blair needs Labour to stay in No 10. Dubbed 'Bambi' when he became leader, Blair has matured as the most formidable leader in the Labour's history.

But his opportunity came in tragic circumstances with the death of John Smith.

Some Blairites have tried to airbrush Smith out of the party's history and suggested that he wouldn't have won an election. They are wrong.

But there can be little doubt that it was Blair's appeal to Middle England which made Labour's 1997 victory so emphatic.

There is also no doubt Blair has more power than any other Labour prime minister. But what has he done with it?

Despite being called 'Labour Lite' by some, and a Tory by others, Blair's first term achieved radical changes that the party had long promised.

Setting up a Scottish Parliament, establishing the minimum wage and abolishing hereditary peers were all pledges made by the first Labour leader, Keir Hardie, but not fulfilled until Blair. The domestic agenda is where he has enjoyed most success and he must share that with his rival for the leadership, Chancellor Gordon Brown.

In return for not standing against Blair in 1994, Brown was given control of the economic and public service agenda.

He has delivered a stable economy with record low unemployment and inflation, with record increases in spending on hospitals and schools.

Blair's biggest failings have been in foreign affairs, with the Iraq war threatening to overshadow his entire time as prime minister.

As a manager of the party, Blair has led Labour to the right and challenged members to follow him.

His belief is that it doesn't matter how traditional Labour values are delivered as long as they are.

If Labour is for progress, he would argue, it has to constantly develop the ways it wants to change the world and not be stuck with dogma.

That may be his greatest achievement in 10 years as leader.

In the 1980s, figures in the party seemed more concerned with ideological purity than winning elections.

Now Labour wins.

CAPTION(S):

IN CHARGE: Tony and Cherie in 1994; 2004: After; Butler Report