Another term

Tony Blair still owns the centre ground in British politics, but no longer dominates it. That was the message of his historic third straight victory this week, the longest winning streak in Labour Party history.

Labour deserved to win. During its eight years in office, it has managed the British economy well and restored needed funds to public services while initiating overdue reforms. Neither of Labour’s main rivals, the Conservatives on the right and the Liberal Democrats on the left, convinced enough voters that they could do better, although both gained ground since the last vote four years ago. As a result, Blair will be constrained by a much narrower majority.

That relative setback was equally deserved. British voters across the political spectrum have come to recognise that Blair misled the country when he took it into a highly unpopular war in Iraq. The Conservatives might have been able to pull even closer if their leader, Michael Howard, had run a more appealing campaign. By making a particularly nasty strain of immigrant-bashing his principal theme, Howard managed to stir bad memories of the xenophobic features of Thatcherism.

After a solid, though not resounding, third victory, Blair has gained a new chance to win back the doubters and solidify his legacy. — The New York Times