Blair drops crime bills as election race hots up

[tx_dem41]

Tony Blair is to abandon two central planks of the government's crime legislation as he clears the decks before announcing the start of the general election campaign, expected in the next two days.

Controversial plans to introduce ID cards and new laws on making incitement to religious hatred a criminal offence are expected to be sacrificed to force through other key pieces of legislation before Parliament is dissolved.

The Cabinet will put the economy centre-stage, starting with a dramatic commitment from Chancellor Gordon Brown today to raise education spending for every year of the next Parliament.

Blair will also move to neutralise a key obstacle to his re-election by acknowledging deep divisions within the party over Iraq during the campaign. Anti-war celebrities and MPs are expected to share party platforms to persuade voters that anger over Iraq is not a reason to defect .

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,1451287,00.html