A virtual shack with peeling paint, accessed by a ramp of rough concrete topped with makeshift scaffolding-type tubular railings: the polling station where our Prime Minster cast a vote that no doubt helped him secure his historic third term at No 10 wasn't much of an advert for Blair's Britain. A cynic from Mars might have concluded that if this was the smartest face the Prime Minister's own constituency could show after eight Labour years in office, then it was all up for Britain.

Hours later, not far from that down-at-heel-looking spot, Mr Blair, victorious yet chastened, announced: "It seems the British people wanted the return of a Labour Government but with a reduced majority.'' So the political blarney got underway again.

Throughout the election, did you hear anyone say: "I want Labour back but with a reduced majority''? A mere 36 per cent of voters chose Labour, the lowest ever by a winning party. Take into account the abstentions, not a few of which would be positive, to demonstrate disillusion, rather than negative, through apathy, and our new Government enjoys the support of only a quarter of the country's electors. That's how much the country wanted Labour back, Tony.

He went on to say he had listened to the people. In fact, though Mr Blair could hardly have failed to hear their voice, courtesy of the much-maligned media, he was largely shielded from the general public. Moving in a cocoon of Labour enthusiasts, presumably what he heard even from them was bad enough.

Anyway he promised "relentlessly'' to pursue the people's priorities. Rightly he identified what he called "a certain disrespect'' as high among our concerns.

Of course, he chiefly meant the anti-social behaviour that now makes life a misery for millions. Its roots lie in long-term social change, though Margaret Thatcher didn't help by rendering the police impotent against the feral young, and New Labour has extended the social chaos by loosening the licensing laws. But Mr Blair's sign of resolve to put decent citizens and communities first is welcome.

But what of pensions? Mr Blair must know this a top "people's priority". Margaret Thatcher wrecked the state pension by breaking the link with earnings, and Gordon Brown worsened the damage by plundering the occupational pension funds. The many who see Brown as the man to restore faith in Labour seem to ignore this massive black mark against him.

If Labour truly is listening, it will rebuild the state pension, which remains Britain's finest state benefit - the one sure bulwark against poverty in old age. That the fourth richest nation on earth currently provides the second worst pension in Europe is indefensible. But how good a "listener" do you judge to be the man brought back by Mr Blair to solve the pensions' crisis: David Blunkett? Oh dear.

Meanwhile, however, a final personal thought on the election. Last week I said the case for proportional representation was becoming urgent. A reader pointed out that Labour's 1997 manifesto promised a review of PR, which has yet to appear. Against that negligence, the election outcome shows that while it took 27,000 votes to put a Labour MP into Parliament, the Tories needed 45,000, and the LibDems 100,000. Labour's slight (three-point) lead over the Tories brought them 158 more seats. Clearly, Something Must Be Done.