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Blair gives speech on the regeneration of Britain's cities during visit to Cardiff; Tony Blair speech SOT continues - By the late 1980s many of our cities were in decline / But now, just look at Cardiff / In the old days, the rapid growth of Cardiff was based on its development as a major port for the transport of coal / With the fall of the industry, unemployment used to blight Cardiff / Now it has fallen 54 per cent since 1997 / There has been major redevelopment, which has led to Cardiff being one of the fastest-growing cities in the UK / It is certainly one of few with an expanding population / On March 1, 2004, Cardiff was granted Fairtrade City status - Cardiff has the UK's largest Film, TV and Multimedia sector outside London / Employment in the sector has grown significantly in recent years, and currently provides employment for thousands of the City's workforce / Cardiff is home to BBC Wales, S4C and ITV Wales / Cardiff is home to Cardiff Castle, the National Museum and Gallery, the Museum of Welsh Life and Llandaff Cathedral / The Welsh National Opera moved into the Wales Millennium Centre in November 2004 - Cardiff is now, on any basis, one of the foremost cities of Europe / But the revitalisation of this city is not unique / Our major cities have recovered after years of decline / In total more than twenty billion pounds has been invested / The New Deal for Communities supports 10-year regeneration strategies in 39 of the poorest neighbourhoods in the country / The Neighbourhood Renewal Fund has focused on the 88 most deprived local authority areas / The Coalfields Regeneration Trust provided regeneration projects in declining coalfield areas / There have been a myriad of initiatives from the European Union, from Regional Development Agencies, from Urban Regeneration Companies, from English Partnerships - Work has, for two centuries or more, driven migration to urban areas / It still does / Almost 80 per cent of new jobs in the six years to...