Blair's New Start

Fresh off a landslide victory at the polls, Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled his new Cabinet Friday.

He ousted the respected but sometimes gaffe-prone Robin Cook as foreign secretary in a surprise move. Cook was replaced by Jack Straw, who oversaw home affairs in the last government. Former Education Minister David Blunkett replaces Straw as Home Secretary

Friday morning, with 634 of the races declared, Labor had 413 seats to the Conservatives' 164, with 47 going to the left-leaning Liberal Democrats and the remainder to smaller regional parties.

Labor looked on target for a majority just shy of its last cushion of 179 seats. The Liberal Democrats, rather than the Conservatives, appeared to have gained the difference.

The lowest voter turnout in modern times — an estimated 59 percent — caused concern across the political spectrum. Some blamed it on complacency; others on the quality of the politics.

Blair, fearing a weak turnout might erode Labor's majority, had implored Britons to get out and vote — but to little apparent effect. Turnout in recent elections had ranged between 70 and 77 percent.

Blair sought a mandate to renew public services, bolster the flagship national health service and boost secondary school standards — in a campaign that CBS News Correspondent Sam Litzinger reports appealed modeled after those run by Blair's friend, former President Clinton.

Early Friday, soon after Labor secured the 330 seats needed for a majority in the 659-seat House of Commons, Conservative Party leader William Hague telephoned Blair to congratulate him.

"It is vital for leaders to listen and parties to change," Hague said outside party headquarters in London. "I've therefore decided to step down as leader of the Conservative party when a successor can be elected in the coming months."

Hague pinned much of his unsuccessful campaign on his opposition to joining the euro, the European common currency. Labor says it will hold a referendum on the issue after certain economic tests are met.

An election drop in the value of the pound — it touched 15-year lows against the dollar this week — was seen as a reflection of concern about Britain's eventual membership in the euro.

Hague's announcement signaled the start of another race, with candidates for Tory leader expected to start throwing their hats into the ring within hours.

In the four years since Labor drove the Conservatives to crushing defeat after 18 years in power, Blair's government has presided over a dynamic economy, all but eliminated hereditary peers from the House of Lords and shepherded greater autonomy for Scotland and Wales.

Under Blair, Labor has had consistently high approval ratings for its handling of the economy, the area where it had historically failed to win public confidence. But it earned the enmity of some rural voters, who felt Blair mishandled problems like this year's foot-and-mouth crisis.

Under Britain's parliamentary system, the prime minister does not directly campaign for election. Instead, the party that wins a majority in the House of Commons forms the government, and its leader becomes prime minister.

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