London, May 6
British Prime Minister Tony Blair won a historic third consecutive term in office with his Labour Party winning an absolute majority in the general election, Xinhua reported Friday.

Labour passed the required 324-seat mark in the 646-member House of Commons, the lower house of the British parliament, says an IANS report.

The leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party, Mr Michael Howard, admitted defeat Friday in a speech following his re-election as MP for Folkestone, southern England. "It looks from the way in which the national results are going that Mr Blair is going to win a third term for Labour," he said.

However, projections and exit polls by the BBC and the Independent Television indicated that Labour's majority in the House of Commons would be reduced from 161 seats to 66 seats.

Mr Tony Blair said today that the election result had given his Labour Party a mandate to govern Britain. According to AP, Mr Blair was greeted with cheers and applause by party staff and supporters, as he arrived at a post election party in central London.

"I think we can be really proud of what we have achieved, said Mr Blair, who was upbeat and buoyant, despite Labour's lead in the House of Commons being slashed in an apparent voter backlash over the Iraq war.

In his constituency Sedgefield, sharing the stage with the father of a soldier killed in the Iraq war and a female political candidate wearing a hat emblazoned with the letters "B-l-i-a-r," the Prime Minister looked tired, as he asked Britons to unite after the bitter campaign.

Mr Blair was never in real danger of losing the seat representing Sedgefield district, in northeastern England, which he has served since 1983. He won with 24,421 votes. Conservative candidate Al Lockwood won 5,972 votes, while independent Reg Keys, whose son Tom died in Iraq, had 4,252.

"I know Iraq has been a divisive issue in this country, but I hope now that we can unite again and look to the future there and here," Blair said, standing next to his wife, Cherie. Mr Blair called the third straight win "historic", but acknowledged that voters had scaled back Labour's hold on the House of Commons.

"It's clear ... that the British people wanted the return of a Labour government, but with a reduced majority, and we have to respond to that sensibly and wisely and responsibly."

Later at the Trimdon Labour Club near Sedgefield, the British Prime Minister told party workers he was enthusiastic about a third-term agenda that would include a focus on law and order, providing affordable childcare, and reshaping public services. — Agencies