Blair: tough decisions needed for long-term

Blair Defends Bank's Rate Rises

Mr Blair said that the Tories had ignored the Bank's advice that interest rates should be put up because there was an election in the offing. "They (interest rates) should have gone up nine months ago. The Bank of England were warning the previous government that they should do that. But because there was election coming they didn't," said Mr Blair.

Mr Blair said that keeping inflation under control was one of his Government's key goals. "We have got some inflation back in the system in Britain. If we don't squeeze it back out again now, we will go back to the situation we had in the early 1990s when we went into really deep recession and when interest rates went up to 15%. The economy is doing quite well in many ways at the moment, but if you end up with a bust on your hands and a recession, then people really know about it. So better to take the measures now." he said.

"Countries like South Korea now send more children to university than Britain does; that is not good for us," he said. "If you want to do it (increase student numbers) through taxation you can do, but people's taxes are going to have to go up by a massive amount in order to pay for that. Or you say people can take out a loan when they go to university and then they repay it afterwards according to their ability to pay. Again, we are trying to take decisions for the long term, because the alternative is having a university system that has become second class."

The Blair family arrives at No.10 on May 2nd

Mr Blair was asked how his children were coming to terms with their sudden rise to prominence. "They are coping pretty well. We are a close family. What's important for them is as I always say to them `look, remember this will happen for the time your dad's Prime Minister, but don't get used to it because then someone else will come along at some point and I will retire into obscurity and so will they'. So I think it's important that they are aware the whole time that they have to make their own way in life rather than think it's all going to be laid on for them."