NEW Home Secretary Jack Straw today spoke of the 'fantastic honour' he had been given by new Prime Minister Tony Blair and admitted that he doubted he would ever see a Labour victory.

"I thought government, still less a majority of this size, was out of the reach of the Labour Party five years ago when we lost," he said.

"None of us ever thought it would be so cataclysmic for the Tory Party."

The Blackburn MP went to Buckingham Palace on Saturday to be formally appointed at a meeting of the Privy Council.

Now he has become one of the most powerful politicians in the country and his attention is already focused on a new Crime and Disorder Bill, which will form one of the most important planks of the Queen's Speech.

The Bill will contain measures to curb anti-social neighbours, alcohol and drug-related crime and young offenders.

Mr Straw predicted a long period in the wilderness for the Tories but stressed that they should not be written off.

"We must never take the electorate for granted," he said. "One of the reasons the Tories did so badly was because they treated the electorate arrogantly.

"They can certainly be out of power for a very long time because they are very divided - that's why we were out for so long."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.