The two key issues were whether the military plan worked and whether we had the political strategy to

The two key issues were whether the military plan worked and whether we had the political strategy to give the military plan the space to work.”Tony Blair in leaked minutes to a July 2002 meeting with military and intelligence* “The ending of this regime would be the cause of regret for no one other than Saddam But our purpose is disarmament No one wants military conflict. Even if he wins a third term, he is now going to be a lame duck prime minister. Iraq will haunt his premiership and his legacy, just as Suez did for Sir Anthony Eden.”Liam Fox, the Tory party co-chairman, said the leaks would keep trust on the agenda. “If people feel Tony Blair misled them on taxes, tuition fees and the Iraq war, then they can send him a message that failing to tell the truth will not be tolerated,” he said.But Mr Blair told BBC1’s Breakfast With Frost: “The idea that we had decided definitively for military action at that stage is wrong and disproved by the fact that, several months later, we went back to the United Nations to get a final resolution and actually the conflict didn’t begin until four months after that.”In a later radio interview, Mr Blair said the death of British soldiers was “a deeply heavy responsibility” but he could not apologise for taking the country to war. Sir Menzies Campbell, the foreign affairs spokesman, said: “It’s clear they agreed to illegal regime change with the Bush administration and deliberately set out to manufacture circumstances that would allow them to claim a justification to go to war.”Charles Kennedy, the party leader, told a rally yesterday in Newbury, Berkshire: “Tony Blair’s authority is seriously undermined by Iraq. The papers leaked to The Sunday Times pertained to a meeting on 23 July 2002, chaired by Mr Blair, of his inner circle. Present were Lord Boyce, Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, Sir Richard Dearlove, the head of MI6, and John Scarlett, the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee.According to the documents, marked “extremely sensitive”, Sir Richard told the meeting that “intelligence and facts were being fixed around policy” by the US administrationMr Straw warned that the case for military action was “thin”, adding that Saddam was not “threatening his neighbours and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran”.

Mr Straw suggested they should “work up” an ultimatum about weapons inspectors that would “help with the legal justification”.The Prime Minister told the meeting: “If the political context were right, people would support regime change.” He said the key issues were “whether the military plan worked and whether we had the political strategy to give the military plan space to work”.The minute of the meeting concluded: “We should work on the assumption that the UK would take part in any military action.The Liberal Democrats said the memo proved the Government had been bent on military action. Tony Blair was warned that his place in history will be “haunted” by Iraq, after fresh evidence emerged that he was secretly planning to join a US-led war against Saddam Hussein eight months before the invasion. The manufacturing sector has been in decline like elsewhere in the UK.. While unemployment is at its lowest for 30 years, the quality of the jobs on offer is not high.The level of pay in Wales never really recovered from the collapse of heavy industry during the Thatcher years. Fifty per cent opted for the Assembly, but only 23 per cent chose the UK Government.

Just 25 per cent thought the Assembly should be abolished, 19 per cent said it should remain as it was, while 52 per cent believed it should be given more powers.Politicians believe that despite the problems over health, voters are starting to realise that the Assembly is responsible for some popular policies, such as free bus passes for all pensioners.For all the concern over health and education, it could well be “the economy stupid” Here Labour’s record is patchy. It was established after a wafer-thin majority in a referendum. The Assembly is responsible for education, health, local transport and other public services but, unlike the Scottish Parliament, has no power on tax rates.An ICM poll for BBC Wales asked voters what level of government should have the most influence over the principality. Welsh Conservatives said the British Medical Association had declared it had no confidence in Labour’s handling of the National Health Service in Wales.Paradoxically while voters harbour reservations about the Welsh Assembly, it is attracting far more support than it used to. The principality’s parliament was invested in 1999 under Labour’s policy of devolution. One senior trade unionist put it down to the fact that “incentives for success and the penalties for failure are stronger in England”.

The constituency has a high number of student voters – a large percentage of whom say they will turn out.Prosperous Monmouth near the English border could be taken by the Conservatives. Many voters in the Gwent market town are unhappy with the ban on foxhunting. Another seat that Labour might lose to the Tories is Clwyd West, an area made up largely of villages and not traditional Labour territory.Of the 40 constituencies in the principality, Labour took 34 in the last general election, Plaid Cymru four and the Liberal Democrats two Wales was a Tory-free zone. In the Welsh Assembly however the Conservatives have a substantial presence. Out of 60 seats they hold 11, with Plaid Cymru 12, Liberal Democrats six and two Independents, including Mr Law. Until this week Labour, with 30 members, enjoyed a majority of one – a Plaid member was the Assembly’s presiding officer.Anger over the Assembly’s stewardship of health – one of the policy areas devolved to Wales – could affect voting intentions in the general election.Many voters in Wales believe the English have got their act together over the NHS.