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15th September, 2007
It’s been exactly a year since I first got a bee in my bonnet about the Labour party’s treatment of our then Prime Minister. See this, the first post. I’m tempted to say “goodnight, and goodbye”, but I doubt if I can completely wean myself off it just yet. You’ll probably notice fewer contributions as time goes on. I am not going to have much to report about Mr Blair in his new post as Mid-East Envoy, as it isn’t something he’s going to talk about for obvious reasons. And I’m not REALLY interested in the rest of them in British politics.Still, you’re not getting rid of me THAT easily; I don’t think so anyway.Thank you to all my thousands of readers from ALL over the world. Not quite hundreds of thousands, but still many more than I thought I’d get. And in particular, thanks to those who took the time to comment. We may have lost this battle, but as for the war … well, that’s another story.
A picture I found at this site. Bearing the Iraq flag as well as our own, and from a grateful Iraqi, this kind of sentiment should have been and still should be uttered more frequently towards our great former prime minister, rather than the usual insults.
13th November, 2007
Watch my latest video - More Tony Blair Words (Part2) - the follow-up to ‘Tony Blair - Everlasting Words’, as below.
Not quite sure why Gordon Brown looks so panic-stricken on the question of the “relationship between faith & state” (at around 3 minutes). He didn’t need to prompt Mr Blair as to how to handle this; it’s water off a duck’s back to the former PM. This is probably my favourite part of this last PMQs clip, and just ONE of the reasons we already miss Blair in the weekly jousts in the Commons.
No, my favourite part is the contribution by Alan Williams, the Father of the House:
“He is the most politically successful prime minister this party has ever had”.
So right, Mr Williams. And your party should NEVER have forgotten that.
1st November, 2007
(The day we MIGHT have had an election!)
I’ve uploaded another video to YouTube
“TONY BLAIR - EVERLASTING WORDS”
Click here to see it on YouTube site
WATCH MY VIDEO OF TONY BLAIR’S
‘IMPOSSIBLE DREAM’ as International Middle East Peace Envoy
PARTY’S OVER
“BLAIR THE MUSICAL TONY”
(or something like that!)
Click here to see it on YouTube site
How many prime ministers a few weeks out of office have had two musicals running about them? You got it. None. They haven’t even done Maggie The Musical as far as I can recall. But then again she wasn’t quite the ‘tragic hero’, like our boy. Although, come to think of it, she too was stabbed in the back by her own.
“Tony Blair - The Musical” & “Tony! The Blair Musical”
Hmm…mm! Somewhat confusing. I’ve got a really good suggestion for the next two -
How’s about “Blair, the Musical Tony” and “Tony, The Musical Blair”.
So don’t wonder why he’s The Real Thing for theatrical art! It’s obvious - he’s just the real thing.
Consummate communicator, emotion (or not) for every occasion, daring, driven, one-of-a-kind. And now, political history before his time, so fitted to the role of tragic hero writ large.
TRAGIC HERO?
Stabbed in the back, front and everywhere else by those who owe him everything - Macbeth Shakespeare style, or as the all-powerful, but sadly mortal Caesar in the most famous political tragedy. And as the Greek democrat undone by democracy, where his libertarian instincts and actions meant that he must be done away with in order that the essential elements of his instincts and actions should survive.
I suppose they didn’t have a phrase for “ar** backwards” in Ancient Greece!
Misunderstood and at times misunderstanding; liable to overstretch himself due to self delusion and over-confidence. The flawed hero? All these things and more - that’s Blair, The Tony Musical.
And apart from that - he’s GOOD. Bl***y good. Star quality in abundance. He knows it but more importantly, so do we. And so the scribblers have scribbled, and all the world’s a stage for Tony. Interesting.
In the absence of the real thing, and still suffering withdrawal symptoms, I’ll make a page in the next couple of days looking at both Blair shows at the Edinburgh Festival. Haven’t seen either show yet, but I’ll tap out a page soon and if I do get up to Edinburgh I promise I’ll write a review or two, too.
And it’s all happening in Edinburgh - where he was born and went to school.
Art is stranger than life, or vice-versa.
REVIEWS
1. Click here for reviews of “Tony Blair - The Musical”
“Tony Blair - The Musical” is at The Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh.
The TBTM company, whose video is above, also have their own blog here
The other TB musical, “Tony! The Blair Musical” is at C, Chamber Street, Edinburgh.
2. Click here for reviews of “Tony! the Blair Musical”
Both run until 27th August, but I understand tickets are hard to come by. For more information on both Edinburgh Festival Blair musicals click here.
Click for The Edinburgh Fringe website to enquire about ticket availability.
13th August, 2007
Interesting stuff on the BBC ‘ON THIS DAY’ site
“At least 27 people are feared dead in the worst paramilitary bombing since the start of the Northern Ireland conflict three decades ago.”
Thank goodness that dreadful conflict seems at last to have been resolved. I won’t mention who has been central to this.
Also, I don’t know why THIS is of interest, but ON THIS DAY in 1057, 950 years ago, Macbeth, King of Scots, was killed in a battle by Malcolm, the eldest son of King Duncan, whom Macbeth had slain.
Amazing how some stories live on. Where’s today’s Shakespeare?
25th July, 2007
For updates on the Middle East envoy’s progress, please go to the Envoy’s Progress post.
This article from the Arab News highlights the problems he will have persuading some Palestinians that he is an honest broker.
[Picture: 17th July, 2007, Mr Blair meets EU leaders for discussions regarding his new post as Middle East envoy]
Click here to go straight to the original post below
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?
AT LAST! NO CHARGES IN CASH-FOR-HONOURS SAY CPS
ALL INNOCENT - NOW FOR THE FALLOUT - Go here
Latest pages here. Click here for more links to the rest of the site
- The Reptilian Press - All Quiet
- To Dream The Impossible Dream - Blair’s Quest - words & music
- A Letter From A Soldier
- Envoy - Mission Impossible - Blair After Downing Street
- Obituary for Tony Blair - by Dubbya
- Go to “VERY Latest on TONY BLAIR and Other News”
- See “Tony Blair After Downing Street”
NOTE: 15th July, 2007: I’m not a stirrer, honestly, but I was intrigued by these two revelations:
- It “rankles” with our former great prime minister that he has “been pushed out” (of office). Warm words have to be exchanged in order to keep Labour together, but his party are lucky that he can keep any festering feelings under wraps.
- He does NOT accept that it was ‘Iraq or Bush’ that “did it for him”. Nor do I, Mr Blair, nor do I.
["rankles" - causes severe or continuous irritation, anger or bitterness.]
Read my report on his thoughts here
Thank you for visiting - Keep Tony Blair For PM
27th June, 2007
GOODBYE TO THIS MORNING’S PRIME MINISTER
If you want to view the whole of Tony Blair’s last PMQs - including the unheard of standing ovation, please click here
Please note: Yes, I am aware the battle is lost, but since traffic has more than quadrupled today on the “change” of PMs I expect to keep the site going for a bit if only to allow people to access some of the content. Please note that this will NOT be the place to update you on Mr Brown. I may continue for a short time to add more about Mr Blair’s future tasks in the Middle East.
If you have found this site after an internet search please look through the list of pages below or on the right. I have tried to put together as much as possible of the Story of Tony Blair’s Ten Years as PM (and a little prior), including videos, audios, pictures & transcripts. This aims to try to balance in a small way the judgemental press and prejudiced and half-informed blogging world whose search is mainly for the ‘bad’.
Click here to read about commenting, and to comment
My thanks to a reader for THIS kind comment
20th June, 2007
View Tony Blair Videos - I’ve even made one myself now. Modest start.
I’m feeling flattered. On its website ‘The Economist’ has placed a link here. See their article on the Prime Minister. This publication has been one of the few outlets which, to put it in the vernacular, has “got it” about Tony Blair. Not that I agree with their every analysis; but then I never expected to.
Thank you for the link.
WHY THIS BLOG? 
This blog has been set up with the sole purpose of supporting the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. I was moved to do this after the disgraceful “coup” attempt in the summer of 2006. I seem to be in a minority of online bloggers, but I actually DO believe that this prime minister is worthy of our support, in the same way that he has worked to support us over the last ten years. Until Mr Blair has left the British political scene or until I am convinced that he is truly as evil and/or manipulative as 90% of bloggers seem to have concluded, I’ll defend him. If that makes me sound deluded or naive, well … so be it.
THE START OF THE LONG GOODBYE
Read news reports at the time of the Munificent Seven’s (or Seventeen’s) masterful piece of (self) destruction! What I want to know is this; where were all the hundreds of other MPs and thousands of party members who should have leapt to his support? This was the man who had resurrected their party and broken all, yes ALL records in its electoral history.
[Pic: Tony Blair on the day he announced that he would stand down within a year]
I was, and still am disgusted at their treatment of the Prime Minister. The backstabbers were hardly chastised, and in some quarters hailed as heroes. And Gordon Brown, as often before, was the Invisible Chancellor in the hour of need, hardly intervening to defend Blair. Tony Blair seems much more willing to forgive than I am ever likely to be.
BBC written report on coup effort, 5th September 2006
BBC video report on Blair’s leaving date
David Miliband’s radio interview on the Today programme regarding PM’s departure date. “PM is not driven by his own ego.”
Please Read This Note On Comments:
I am no longer at the stage of accepting critical comment on the Prime Minister, and I no longer apologise for that.The ‘liberal intelligentsia press’ (LIPpies), continue to provide us with an over-abundance of such - you know where to find it.The acceptance by the semi-detached British public of this lack of balanced reporting and the political press’s general refusal to see the wider picture is, alongside his own party’s connivance, the reason the Prime Minister has been forced from office. However we, the Labour party and he would like to paint it, that is what has been happening.He has been forced from office at the time when we need him most. It won’t go down in history as such, as he has chosen the actual date. Pity it’s the wrong year.Melanie Phillips, although as I understand it quite to the political right, and I would not say I belong there in any measurable or philosophical way, has been fighting a bit of a lonely battle too.She has taken on board the debate on terrorism and the War against the West.A “war” that is dismissed flippantly by the majority of the press and political watchers.It is well worth subscribing to her site if you’d like to keep up with the other side of the argument.You won’t read it in editorial pages of The Independent, that’s for sure.She says:
“In the light of this, John Bolton’s second significant contribution was his revelation that Foreign Office officials worked to undermine Tony Blair’s pro-American policies at the United Nations because they had been ‘infected’ by French and German views.
Mr Bolton, who has been criticised privately by British diplomats as an abrasive unilateralist who showed contempt for the UN, singled out Jeremy Greenstock, the British ambassador to the UN in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, and his successor Sir Emyr Jones Parry, who is still in the post.
‘Greenstock was a lot of the problem,’ he said.
‘British diplomats’, Mr Bolton continued, were ‘vehemently opposed to much of what Mr Blair wanted to do. On Iraq in particular, they didn’t like it.’ It reflected the increasingly Eurocentric view of the Foreign Office, where they’re just not as Atlanticist as they used to be. This is probably the biggest split between the Foreign Office and the British people as a whole, who remain basically at least somewhat Eurosceptic.
Given the virulent opposition of large sections of the British establishment and intelligentsia towards America and the war in Iraq — much of which is the product of rather deeper and even more obnoxious attitudes than rampant EUphilia, which is itself as much the result of those attitudes as their cause - such reported disloyalty within King Charles Street is not surprising.
But it reveals Blair’s unwavering support for Bush and the war to be an even more lonely and admirable position than has been acknowledged.”
I’m not sure if I trust Bolton’s analysis of Greenstock (see more here) any more than Blair haters should distrust Blair on someone else’s say-so.
But the reference to the Foreign Office attitude towards the EU and the USA might have been influential. In our prime minister we have a man who sees the need to be close to both. The responsibilities of power are many and complex.
[Note from me - thinking back to Tony Blair's - retirement speech:]
“I did what I thought was right.” Mr Blair, I BELIEVE YOU. The pertinent question for some became whether you THOUGHT RIGHT or wrong.
The fact that the Prime Minister felt compelled to ask us to trust that his motives for that decision were NOT ulterior, still saddens me greatly.
I gave up politics some time ago when I realised I had ceased to trust the people ;0(
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
[Hamlet, William Shakespeare]
So to commenters - if yours is an ‘anti’ comment, forget it! The antis, in various guises, wallowing in their self-indulgent, half-informed opinion, have already done their worst.
I’d just like to thank a recent commenter at this page for his kind words. I’ve been doing this little job here, completely off my own bat, and under no influence from anyone else, because I believe that Tony Blair has been badly treated and that he has been a great prime minister and ambassador for our country. But I’ve felt, some of the time, like the proverbial voice in the wilderness.Therefore, I appreciated this comment:
Stan Rosenthal said on May 8th, 2007:
“I do not think the Blair era should pass without paying homage to those who have stood by him despite the vilification of lesser mortals. Prime amongst these has been this blogsite. I’m not sure whether other visitors to the site appreciate the courage, professionalism, dedication and effort that has obviously gone into maintaining (against enormous odds) an on-going defence of one of our greatest Prime Ministers but I certainly do. Well done whoever is responsible. It is guys like you that make the whole political thing worthwhile.”
Thank you, Mr Rosenthal.
Here is a link to Mr Rosenthal’s “Progressive” site articles
Please scroll to the end of the comments if you wish to place a comment. Or click here to go back to the top of the page.
Links to site pages (most recent posts at top):
Some Popular Pages
Or go to All Contents of Site/Index for ALL pages & posts
- ‘Contact Tony Blair’ Information
- “*All Contents of Site*”
- The Reptilian Press - All Quiet?
- List of Banned Terrorist Groups - no HuT/no Hamas
- To Dream The Impossible Dream - Blair’s Quest - words & music
- A Letter From A Soldier
- Obituary for Tony Blair - by Dubbya
- CPS - “No Charges”
- Innocent … Until Proven Guilty
- Police - the State we’re In
- Police Overkill?
- Absurd Islamists - Radical Extremists - Victims - Loopy Civil Righters
- Cash For Honours Rumbles On - Levy to be charged?
- Alastair Campbell - The Blair Year -Read extracts from his diaries
- “Abdication” or Political Assassination - Blair still feels he has been pushed out
- Last PMQs for Blair - 27th June, 2007
- Blair’s Short Goodbye - The Last Day
- Kiss Tony Blair Goodbye - Martin Amis’s trip with the PM
- Terrorists Convicted
- Tony Blair After Downing Street - Thoughts on the last few days of his premiership and updates, when I can find any!
- Blair’s Bombs In The Land of War - Islamic Theology Rues - OK?
- Hiroshima in UK?
- EU Summit - Brussels Review of Blair’s last EU meeting
- Blair speech on “Feral Press” A call to review the power and press responsibility
- Blair - Climate Czar? Is this Blair’s next big job?
- Blair in Africa Legacy of Blair’s leadership in Africa
- Go to “Blair - A Call To Arms?” PM says - police v Human Rights?
- Blair - “I did what I thought was right” Retirement speech
- Full transcript of Tony Blair’s retirement speech 10th May, 2007, Sedgefield
- Leaders Deathbed Confession?
- Tony Blair to Iraq No, No, No - yes, yes!
- All Ending In Tears” Opinion - Brown & Blair
- “Tony Blair’s Successor - Leadership” Brown - The Invisible Man.
- “Thoughts and Opinion on Tony Blair”Political Obituaries for Blair.
- David Cameron - Policy?
- “This will be my last conference as party leader” Blair: 6 Sep 2006
- A Very British Coup - or - How To Kill The Leader and Get Away With It
- “Be Proud, Tony” It was the Sun Wot Said It!
- View Tony Blair Videos
- View Prime Minister’s Questions from Parliament
January 2, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Personally, I think Tony Blair should be stoned live on Channel 4, by the next winner of celebrity Big Brother. Hopefully the public would pick a winner with a strong throwing arm. KAPOW! Right between the eyes! It would be natural justice for all the people who were against the war and those who have lost loved ones.
January 5, 2007 at 2:51 am
Hey! How did you do that. Cool!
Mind you, I would still like to see Blair strung up.
January 5, 2007 at 11:42 am
Hello Goodfairy,
Glad to see you over here from the Cif pages. I take it from your comment here and on the Guardian page that you are impressed, bemused or perhaps irritated by this blog ;0) Please don’t send all the hangers-and-floggers over. I’ll only delete them!
On Losing His Mind, by Richard Dawkins: (Ref your favourite subject - nice Mr Hussein).
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/richard_dawkins/2007/01/post_858.html
You said -
……………………………………………………………
Goodfairy
Comment No. 364612
January 5 2:59
Hmmmm. Did you see what Blair-supporter did? Check that link!
……………………………………………………………
I’m publishing your ‘polite’ little comment here though I usually delete such murderous rantings to the Galloway not-for-recycling-junk-only folder. Might change my mind later though. Did you understand this bit on Dawkins page btw?
“… Tch..tch… [Goodfairy] yours has got to be one of those See-I-Effers whose amygdala and neocortex are definitely detached!”
Perhaps I should give you a clue - it has something to do with your emotional intelligence reacting illogically when your thinking brain (?) feels under threat. Whose minds are lost these days on Cif pages?
January 6, 2007 at 5:41 pm
So, are you, or are you not threatening me? Don’t be shy!
Hey! maybe YOUR amygdala and neocortex got just a tiny bit detached, eh?
January 6, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Not yet Goodfairy. But if you keep up your evident references to a nasty physical ending for the prime minister, I just might report you to the Cif pages. Do you realise how ridiculous you look with your constant stuff about it?
Btw, I’ve been to a few pantos in my time, apart from the big ones at the Cif pages, and the Goodfairy invariably waves her magic wand and forgives even the “evil emperor”. Looks like you should rename yourself “wickedwitchofthewest”.
January 7, 2007 at 7:53 am
Message waiting………….on CiF.
Btw, I only make a reference to my preferred option for Blair’s demise (after a fair trial in Iraq, natch) HERE, not on Cif. Well, at least as fair as the one he gave Saddam. (I’ve summarised it all for you).
Like Blair I oppose Capital Punishment in principle but like him I’d accept the right of the victims of War Crimes to implement their own prescriptions. Which apparently in countries occupied by the UK involves taunting the condemned man.
I’m at a loss what you intend to report to “CiF” because on CiF I have been discussing only what will happen to him AFTER he dies and reaches his appointed destination! Boiling tar and all that.
Unless you reckon he will never die? Maybe rise again? Religious nutters will believe almost anything as we know!
Regards to all at MI5.
January 7, 2007 at 12:58 pm
wickedwitchofthewest
I’ve replied to your comments at Cif.
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/richard_dawkins/2007/01/post_858.html
You continue to damn yourself. A “fair trial in Iraq”? Why? Has Blair taken out citizenship there? Who would try him? Not the Iraqi government and courts (who are grateful for his help)? Who then? You are plainly after the taunting of the PM before he meets a sticky end, here as on your See-I-Effer posts. Do you get off on this as well as other things you keep on about? You also said, “Like Blair I oppose Capital Punishment in principle but like him I’d accept the right of the victims of War Crimes to implement their own prescriptions. Which apparently in countries occupied by the UK involves taunting the condemned man. ”
So you seem to conclude that you and Mr Blair accept the rights of the victims of war crimes etc… By that, in your logic, you conclude that deaths in Iraq are all caused by the coalition, nothing to do with insurgents, so Blair and Bush killed or ordered those resultant deaths (by insurgents) personally? ARE YOU MAD?
And if you are against the death penalty why does this not apply to our Prime Minister? Or do you choose who you want to die based on some other criteria? Not Saddam or his ilk, but Blair? Politically and psychologically you make no sense.
As to “religious nutters”. Well, let’s put it this way, we don’t all share the same (or any) religious beliefs. That does not give us the right to call those who do “nutters”. Grow up, Goodfairy.
January 20, 2007 at 12:39 pm
keep him!
January 21, 2007 at 2:17 am
As he is going best he goes soonish, so Brown can get some service in before an election. Less than 3 years and he will have trouble pointing to things which he has instigated and followed through, over 2 years and people will expect such achievements and there will not be much. Simplistic I dare say, but it feels right, and I bet it works too!
Best wishes,
Tony.
January 21, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Well, Tony, that’s one point of view. And the way things are at the moment, who knows? I just think after all your namesake’s done he should be permitted to get his ten years in. I am also not convinced that Brown is going to lift Labour’s hopes in the way that some think, partly because of the possible “mess” if the ScotNats do well in May. With Brown’s Scottishness, well there could well be some pull of allegiances.
Thanks for your comment.
January 21, 2007 at 1:22 pm
The Scot Nats aren’t really here or there imho, and the Scot Lord Hume very nearly came from nowhere to beat Harold Wilson in 1964. Any advances the Nats make will not be replicated in the General Election, where people vote for a national party, or abstain for the most part, now they have a Scorttish Parliament.
I suggest that everyone who has an interest in British politics reads a biography of Gordon Brown, a pre 1997 one for preference, sorry I cannot remember the one I would recommend. He is wholly remarkable, his history as a student politician is unrivalled, absolutely outstanding.
Good Luck, but they are servants of the people, and it is the Commonweal which matters most!
Tony Jarrett.
January 22, 2007 at 9:56 am
I saw this in the Grauniad, thought it would interest the site propreitor and others:
January 22, 2007 at 9:57 am
The poll was commissioned by the Power Inquiry, chaired by the Labour peer Dame Helena Kennedy, which is hoping to develop US-style grassroots political activism using the internet. Asked to put aside party loyalties, voters said Gordon Brown was the most trusted of the probable leaders at the next election “to change the way our democracy works in the long-term interests of the country”.
January 22, 2007 at 10:54 am
Tony,
Well, you might be right about the ScotNats. Hope so anyway.
As for Brown, sorry I can’t bring myself to read anything about my fellow-Scot at the moment. Maybe one day, but certainly not now. Although not as visceral, I feel about him in a similar way to how most of the Cif-ers feel about Blair.
I recently spoke to a friend of mine in the Lords, who said much as you have, and I’ve heard this said often anyway. I met him once at a business meeting and he was quite impressive. However, I don’t think that politics and leadership are just about measuring one’s grey cell attributes.
Yes, I DO understand that the common good matters most. It’s just that we interpret the common good differently in democracies and “vision” is often harder to quantify and even recognise.
Good to have your opinion anyway.
P.S. Helena Kennedy’s paper. It takes some reading, doesn’t it? But after this first free download it’ll cost £12. If they have to charge anything, which they shouldn’t really, as once online there are few further expenses, I suggest they charge £1. They’ll sell a lot more that way. I think we all know where Ms Kennedy’s allegiances lie, though, don’t we? I’m afraid I couldn’t be bothered digging through the manuscript’s 154 pages to find the poll stuff about Honest Gord, sorry.
January 22, 2007 at 6:11 pm
I’ve not met Gordon Brown, think he is Asquithian in his political stature.
I was impressed with Robin Cook, he said he wasn’t working to become leader though (this was back in the ’80s) as he was too ugly! He also referred obliquely to his private life.
I think he soured when he was demoted to Leader of the House though, and I do wonder if he might have delayed the americans over the beginning of the Iraq war had he remained Foreign Secretary, wisely or not I doubt we shall ever know.
I know that “vision” is a quality which can be useful; foresight and principle do not always produce it I think. Vision can become an idee fixe I fear.
January 22, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Perhaps Brown will emulate Asquith in this way:
“Asquith made strenuous attempts to achieve political solidarity and in May 1915 formed a coalition government. Gradually the Conservatives in the cabinet began to question Asquith’s abilities as a war leader. In December, 1916 David Lloyd George agreed to collaborate with the Conservatives in the cabinet to remove Asquith from power.”
It could be said that thus he ended the Liberals period of power. Hope your boy won’t do the same for Labour!
Anyway, he introduced a series of social reforms including the Old Age Pensions Act and the People’s Budget, but was against female suffrage. Not much more social reform to bring in at the moment for Brown, I fear. It’s all been done. And after him came the Great Honours salesman - Lloyd George!
Hmm..mm
As to the vision thing, yes, I don’t think that’s the right word actually, because political vision is normally attached to some ideological pitch like monetarism or socialism. Blair’s attraction is that he was and is ideologically light. So is his “vision”, Not Having Vision ;0)
Not sure, cos they still call it Blairism so it must be SOMEthing ideological, I suppose.
January 24, 2007 at 11:16 am
I suspect that Blair’s “vision” is simply enlightened anglo-catholicism. This is a sort of ideology, but unlikely to be recognised as such.
Browns presbytyrian (ish) upbringing is more nearly compatible with socialism of a sort so far as vision is concerend I think.
Monetarism is a theory, or set of theories, which I studied at college. Cannot see it as an ideology. Friedmanism, which was bastardised into Thatcherism is a an ideology.
Lloyd George replaced Asquith (mostly on the say so of the Tories Asquith had quite rightly brought into his government) because of disquiet with Asquith’s drinking, and because there was a general feeling that “Something Must Be Done.” Of course a hands on approach was not particularly helpful.
Lloyd George’s overwheening ambition is not an unusual feature in politicians’ characters. Rarely is it so strong in someone of such ability, Gordon Brown may be another! (I don’t know).
January 24, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Interesting, Tony. I referred to monetarism as an ideology because it seemed to be taken on as such by some close to Thatcher, as you say above.
According to The Economist, Friedman “was the most influential economist of the second half of the 20th century…possibly of all of it.”
Friedman explained how the free market works, emphasizing that its principles have shown to solve social and political problems that other systems have failed to adequately address.
Wonder how Brownism will rate in comparison?
A politician without ambition (overweening or not) is a boat without a rudder, surely?
January 24, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Of course politicians have ambitions, however overweening means showing excess confidence or pride, I would have thought it meant both. Lloyd George certains comes in this bracket, some would say Gordon Brown does.
I doubt there will be a Brownism, he is more nearly a Labour man as it were than Tony Blair, though he is as responsible for New labour.
Friedman’s seminal work to my mind was Capitalism & Freedom which I read at college in the ’60s. This is advocacy not science, and I think it makes him an idealogue first and foremost.
His thoeries were subordinate to the idea that free markets can be used to run just about anything. He failed to address information costs and advertsing imho, albeit I haven’t studied his voluminous work sufficently to be sure.
When I last saw my personal tutor from college he told me of a lecture tour Friedman made to the Uk in the late ’60s I think it was.
Friedman was accompanied by minders. A colleague of m’tutor (lol!) started to repeat the word “advertising” as an objection to Friedman’s spiel. (he would not answer questions directly at all). The guy was thrown out, advertsing was not addressed at all in his eulogy of free market principles etc.
I believe Bolivia, with its disgusting amoral police state, is the only country which deliberately tried to stick to Friedmanism.
Mrs Thatcher, encouraged by Nicholas Ridley and Sir Keith Joseph, seems to have tried a rather Tory version, selecting areas of policy on a pretty vindictive basis I think.
January 25, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Re Iraq please hear: http://download.guardian.co.uk/sys-audio/Guardian/audio/2007/01/25/Cohen.mp3
Not all the left imagines that being anti Blair and the USA serves the good muslims or the West.
It is reamarkable that so many do feel obliged to be oppositionist I think, no lessons are ever learned.
January 25, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Thank you for this Tony. I’ve just listened to it. VERY much worth hearing …. a breath of fresh air. Do you think the Cif-ers would get it?
Must get a copy of Nick Cohen’s book - How liberals lost their way (I guess it is a small “l” !)
I’ve posted your audio on this Cif article: “Out of sight, not out of mind” - by Jackie Ashley.
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/jackie_ashley/2007/01/a_real_debate_on_iraq.html
Thanks also for your post on Friedman. Most insightful.
January 26, 2007 at 3:47 pm
I so wish there was more publicity given to the aims and behaviour of the Islamicists, much the biggest feature in all this.
I am a Christian of a sort. Many others are, even Humanists, Hindus and Muslims who have accepted some of our values, many of which were filched from the far east in the first place.
The view that our society/ies are so decadent that they do not deserve to survive is common among fundamentalists of all sorts, inc Marxists a while back.
I feel our society has decided that its values are worth very little, and that is making us defenceless.
January 30, 2007 at 1:27 pm
TB 4ever! For those still bleating about Iraq, Saddam’s dead. Your hero is D-E-A-D. Now get over it and support the democratic Iraqi government.
Democracy rulez! Ba’athism sucks!!!
February 4, 2007 at 4:29 pm
They can’t, and they won’t get over it, Shamik, whether in this country or Iraq. Thus they keep on killing their OWN countrymen. “Mad” is a euphemism for their condition. Madness is an excuse. There are NO excuses.
March 12, 2007 at 10:59 am
Dear Whoever,
How very very sad. For those of us who have been members of the Labour Party for a long time, how terribly terribly sad you make me feel. None of you seem to see that you are destroying what we fought so hard for, and none of you seem to remember what it was really like before Blair. We took the decision to move forward and we have. Have you all forgotten already, some of you may well have not been around then, perhaps a time capusule would help get you back on track. You would really know then what life was like before Blair. Why can’t you just argue your case win or lose without dismantling what took years to achieve? have you all lost it now you have risen to the heady heights of Member of Parliamen?
It is about people, ordinary people and your are all charged with making sure that ordinary people can have the opportunity for a good life. It is not about individuals who cannot see anything else other than their own selfish obsession with power. We actually as the Labour Party have gone so far and should be proud of achievements but no, you mindless cretins are hell bent on destroying these achievements. Carry on and you will destroy everthing and then you will have nothing to fight over at all. Remember, ultimately the people choose!! What a tightrope game you play.
Mr. Blair - love him or hate him you are destroying bit by bit what took 20 years to achieve - a Labour Government!! You may well have already done this.
March 12, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Dear Ms Hancock,
Thank you for your comment.
I too despair. I hope your rebuke to Labour MPs is not falling on deaf ears, or blind eyes, as it were. There is no doubt that a cabal of Labour MPs ARE responsible for this mess, led or at least inspired by “the neighbour in Downing Street”. They blame the PM, because THEY CAN, due to his failing popularity over Iraq and some domestic policies with which they disagree. Disingenuos reasoning, in my humble opinion. The cash-for-honours nonsense has not helped, but they were plotting Mr Blair’s demise more than a year ago.
Some of them seem to think they can just pick up after Tony Blair as though he had never been there. And why none of them (or at least only a few) stood up to be counted at the time of that coup and said, “I support Blair for the whole of this third term”, I’ll never know.
I expect it is the short-termism of political careers. In other words they had to keep their noses clean for the next leader.
Although I am not normally a person who puts a lot of onus or a lot of credit onto the shoulders of an individual leader as such, on this occasion, as in the Thatcherite period, this leader WAS and to my mind still IS the party. HE’S made it the natural party of government, which for Labour is a transformation and without precedent this century.
I fear for a return, if not in reality in perception in the public mind to Old Labour. Some of them can’t wait for that day. They, and the rest of us might yet rue it.
March 12, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Dear Whoever, I wish Tony wasn’t going. He has achieved so much good for the majority of this country. Time will tell whether he was wrong to go with Bush into Iraq but look at the whole of the Middle East. Tell me the name of one country in that part of the world which is peaceful. They are all fighting for power and have no respect for human life.They are divided into so many factions that it is almost impossible to keep up with them. I look at our country and see a Labour government after so many years of Tory rule and I give the credit for that to Tony Blair. Why is the Parliamentary Party so divided? Why are you fighting like children? Have you forgotten pre-1997? I haven’t. I spent months working day in and day out from early morning until quite late at night. My life at that time was THE LABOUR PARTY-all that mattered to me was to get a Labour government elected and we did. Surely you people in the hallowed halls of Westminster are not going to risk losing the next election and let the Tories in again. Quit the stupidity and behave as good Labour M.P.s should.
March 12, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Dear Ms O’Connor,
Thank you so much for your comment. You are SO right! As regards Iraq, I think he WILL be proved right, though it’s hard to ever see any good news being reported in our press. Yet there IS good news happening all the time. Only the bad news and insurgency killings are reported by OUR anti-Blair, anti-war press.
It’s hard to know whose fault this putsch all is. Is it the PM’s for giving in to pressure and saying he’d go within a year ? Or the Cabinet’s for not supporting him more fully? Or the backbenchers for not organising a coup against the coup-makers? Or the press’s for wallowing in Blair’s predicament because half of them wanted his head for Iraq or some other hated policy?
Or maybe, it is the fault of us, the people, for not organising well enough last September to shout “WE WANT TO KEEP OUR PRIME MINISTER”. Apathy wins again.
Those miserable seven (?) letter-writers, were so lowly on the whole that they had no positions to be sacked from as far as I understand it! Otherwise I would have expected that Mr Blair would have shown them the door. Perhaps that’s WHY they were ‘nominated’ to do the dirty work! If it had been a cabinet minister - say, the chancellor - Blair surely would have sacked him.
March 22, 2007 at 11:11 pm
sometimes I think Britain is becoming so hedonistic and even spoilt that they dont see a good thing if it smacks them on the face.
we weren;t doing so well under tory rule, or doesn’t anyone remember that the country was on a high deficit under tory rule it has taken gordon brown years to overcome (although he hasn’t yet).
and what happened to political parties supporting their prime minister, the secret letters to tony demanding his resignation are just ridiculous and show how dire our parliament is becoming.
March 24, 2007 at 6:54 am
Thanks for your comment, bella. The sad thing is that despite Iraq (and I think people are rushing to judgement on that) Tony Blair is still head and shoulders above his rival(s) for the premiership in public eyes. And this despite the press anti-Blair feeding frenzy too.
The letter writers are an absolute disgrace. But the cabinet too, who all voted for Iraq AND Blair’s New Labour policies over the years, bear some responsibility for not gathering round the PM and dismissing his opponents within. And I know who I think bears most responsibility.
Yes the chancellor has done a great job as chancellor capturing the care of the economy deftly from the Tories who messed it up badly in their time. That’s where he should stay, in my humble opinion.
March 28, 2007 at 11:58 pm
Here’s the link to the Paul Staines/Guido Fawkes BNP episode in Hull. http://prisonersvoice.blogspot.com/search/label/Paul%20Staines%20%28aka%29%20Guido%20Fawkes%20sue%20me%20and%20see%20if%20I%20care...
May 8, 2007 at 8:44 pm
I do not think the Blair era should pass without paying homage to those who have stood by him despite the vilification of lesser mortals. Prime amongst these has been this blogsite. I’m not sure whether other visitors to the site appreciate the courage, professionalism, dedication and effort that has obviously gone into maintaining (against enormous odds) an on-going defence of one of our greatest Prime Ministers but I certainly do. Well done whoever is responsible. It is guys like you that make the whole political thing worthwhile.
May 8, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Dear Mr Rosenthal,
Thank you so much for that comment; it means a lot to me. Reading your words again I’m typing through a slightly misty haze here at the moment ;0(
Someone on one of the Cif pages said about my blog, “you can’t buy that kind of loyalty or trust”. That’s true. I’d be doing it whether I was an employee or not, and I’m most definitely NOT! So perhaps it has more value.
Anyway, the more I have read about the Prime Minister - and I read a lot in my research - the more I believe the press generally have been wrong in their facile judgement of him.
I don’t know if he misled us on WMDs or whether he was misled; I don’t know if he bent the truth or believed the unlikely; I don’t know if he was careless with supporters’ cash and/or honours. But I don’t really CARE! Because I DO know that he has worked flat out for peace in Northern Ireland and has guided this country forward in social, economic and international issues that needed to be tackled. He has dominated parliament with his grasp of all the issues and his consummate skills. He has dominated his party because he’s, well, simply the best. Tony Blair is an international statesman, arguably, with no equal in his time.
In time his premiership of our country might be seen as only a warm-up. He’s still young and nowhere near ready to hang up his boots. Ian Paisley, taking first minister post today in NI, is 26 years older!
Maybe Mr Blair will even be back as PM. Who knows?
He’s been a great prime minister and I’ll keep up the work for a bit anyway - I suppose another six weeks or so - and then I really will need to get back to my own business. It HAS taken a lot of time, but I’ve been happy to do it and I suppose proud, especially since so many others couldn’t find it in themselves to look at the man in the round. Blair’s a politician extraordinaire!
Many thanks again for your kind words.
May 10, 2007 at 9:29 am
Hi there, I would be really interested in talking to the founder of this page about contributing to a television programme this week. I’d be really grateful if you could drop me a line asap!
Many thanks
May 10, 2007 at 12:36 pm
The Irish people will always be grateful to Tony Blair for his dedicated effort in bringing an end to the conflict in Northern Ireland, No other British PM has done more to bring Peace to this Island.
Thankyou Tony.
May 10, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Thank you John. This is arguably Tony Blair’s most outstanding success, imho.
Although we did have a fair bit of coverage for the momentous day in Stormont, I notice that our media praised more highly the politicians based within the Irish island rather than Mr Blair, his NI ministers or even John Major. Blair hasn’t mentioned or pursued this lukewarm gratitude, only alluding to the settlement yesterday in parliament when others did. I have long noticed that Blair is actually quite a modest man.
Yet leadership IS important, and that’s what Blair showed in Northern Ireland, and is still showing.
May 10, 2007 at 7:56 pm
To Mr Blair and his supporters and all British Citizens.
I am a simple working class American citizen. I worked in New York when the World Trade towers were attacked. I was a first responder to the death and mayhem this attack caused. I wittnessed the loss of family and friends to thousands. I helped in every way I could, even to the point of suffering personal pulmonary afflictions due to the ground zero contaminants.
I want to personally thank you and salute you for all you and your countrymen and women have done to support the war on terror.
To all that second guess your reasons and committment for supporting our combined actions in Iraq and Afganistan, I say simply, wait.
I can easily predict that any show of weakness on the part of the west will only encourage an esclation of the terror attacks world wide.
My family and myself will continue to support you any way we can, and hope the brightest future for a man of your committment, values and strength.
Thank you and your Country for making our world a sfer place to live.
You will be missed.
We Salute you Mr. Tony Blair.
An American Family
Mark, Liz, Gigi (10 years) and Margaret (7 years) Garrity.
May 11, 2007 at 1:58 am
Dear Mark, Liz, Gigi and Margaret,
Thank you so very much for your very moving comment. (As if I haven’t been touched enough today by the Prime Minister’s going! )
Hopefully Mr Blair will read your words here.
It’s fantastic to get feedback such as yours, especially in relation to 9/11. The Twin Towers got Mr Blair and this country by your side without hesitation. Then of course after that we were in it for the long haul! We’d been through terrorism for decades at the hands of the IRA. Mr Blair has finally sorted out that little problem this last week (after a few centuries’ endurance). Some of us forget the scale of that victory far too easily. And in these islands we read too much junk liberal press who see no further than the body bags. And this the terrorists know.
Like you I think we are calling judgment on Iraq too soon. And of course, to quote Donald Rumsfeld - “there are the unknown unknowns”. He was right. We can never prove that it would have been worse if left alone, of course. That’s why we elect democratic leaders … to make the hard choices. We shouldn’t crucify them if they get it wrong, or if it takes longer to sort out that we had hoped.
I don’t know what will happen when Gordon Brown takes over as far as the UK is concerned in Iraq and Afghanistan. I expect he’ll try to do something off his own bat, though if it were that easy, Mr Blair would have done it, I’m sure.
But there will never be another Tony Blair.
President Bush, and the rest of us if we’re honest, know that.
By the way, a friend of mine was also killed on 9/11. He actually escaped with minor injuries but died of a blood clot in hospital. So sad. I do hope you have fully recovered from your dreadful experiences now.
May 11, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Mr Tony Blair: I am british with dual belgian nationality. I’m a child of world war 2 and live in Belgium. You are the best Prime Minister we had since Clem Attlee. I wish you all the best for the future. Thank you for all
May 11, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Thank you Mr Heselwood,
It seems to be domestic-based Brits who are so anti-Blair. Makes little sense to me. They seem to have Iraq blindness - everything else he has done, especially the useful stuff, is invisible to their eyes.
I reckon it has much to do with the anti-Blair press here in the UK. But I also wonder if the online community are predominantly from just a few age groups and political leanings. Most of them DON’T belong in the same category for life experience as you do.
Anyway, I’m sure Mr Blair will have a good future, though after his speech yesterday it is clear he is presently interested in clearing his good name, as it were, with the public.
May 12, 2007 at 10:01 pm
My friend said I was the best advertisement there is for getting a divorce, I think I’m a good advertisement for how good Tony was at his job. I left school in 1980 in inner city Glasgow with no job no qualifications and no future. I was a single parent at 23 and moved to the N.E. Scotland to try to give my son a better future. I tried further education but with no help and no family support I found it impossible. I married at 30 had another son and found myself a single parent 2 years later on disability and working part time. But, instead of an end it was a new beginning. I stopped smoking, learned to drive, and went to college (I also gave up my disability benefit when I didn’t have to). Two and a half years later I left with an HND in Applied Science and went to University. A further two years later I am leaving university with a designated degree in ecology (provided I pass exams in next couple of weeks). My only reason for leaving is at 43 years old I want to go back to the real world were grown ups understand that shopping, housework, childcare and life in general have to come before studies. Because I went to college I also encouraged my brother who is only a couple of years younger (and never an academic) to go to college. He was also a single parent with two kids, he now has an HND and works full time. My sister and her husband both work and have two children, she obviously feels left out of the equation so she did a couple of courses and has now started her HNC in Administration P/T. My only regret is my father never got to see how far his 3 children have come, as he died when I was 8 months pregnant with my second son. My sister, my mother and I all own our own houses, the only reason my brother doesn’t is because he cannot get a high enough mortgage to escape from the tenement he lives in. He is the only one left in my family living in a tenement in Glasgow, and probably the only one in his area not on benefits, drugs and who is in legitimate employment. I now want to sit a post grad. to teach Biology. I have a lot to thank Tony Blair for. Most of all I want to thank him for being human, I always thought he smiled like a used car salesman, but instead of mistrusting him I felt it made him more human. Having a young prime minister was the best thing this country ever did. I grew up with sectarianism in Glasgow along with unemployment. Everyone seems to forget what he has done for Peace in Ireland. I don’t know anyone who is able or willing to work and is worse off since he came to power. They say he made a mistake with Iraq, my exhusband was in the army for 9 years (before I met him), soldiers want to fight, thats what theyre trained for. The only problem I have is if its true they don’t have enough of the correct equipment or food, but is that Tony’s fault or the fault of whoever allocates provisions to the army. The last wars were the same. Americans have always had a reputation for having bigger and better rations/provisions than the Brits, but at the end of the day, Tony did not spend the last 10 years causing a war in Iraq, and who is to say that things would be better if he hadn’t. The good he did far outways any bad and I for one will be very sad to see him go.
Goodbye Tony and Good Luck
You deserve it, if the next prime minister is half as good as you then I am looking forward to a very successful future for me and my sons.
May 13, 2007 at 12:17 am
Dear Old Student,
Ecology degree! My goodness. Well done you!
Thank you so much for that comment. A pity we don’t hear more of the good news stories like yours, isn’t it?
Your story is inspirational and I’m so pleased for all of you. It just shows what people can do when they make up their minds - as long as the government has provision in place - and to be fair this government has done very well in this field.
On Iraq, I agree entirely with you. We don’t hear enough about the soldiers and how they feel about the constant carping from whingeing Brits at home. I get really irritated at how our ‘liberal press’ - The Independent is one of the worst - keep giving us body count reports and complaining on behalf of our troops. THEY seldom complain, except as you say now and again about provisions, which is the responsibility of their immediate superiors in the army, not the Prime Minister.
I have always said that we do not know how bad things would have been if Iraq had never happened. And that of course is the trouble. We can’t know how bad it might have become or how many more terrorist cells might have shot up if we’d left everything as is and hoped the problem would just go away.
It wouldn’t have disappeared, just hit us later when they were stronger. And now the Prime Minister who understands this has been pushed out by pygmies. Nothing personal about Brutus Brown, and apologies to pygmies. But I’ve never liked disloyalty. He should stay as chancellor, and we should keep Tony Blair as prime minister. He’s simply the best. Better than all the rest.
A little story about soldiers - a childhood friend of mine, originally from Glasgow, lives in Australia with his wife, a Vietnamese he met while fighting in the Vietnam war alongside the USA. He has two daughters, around 20 - 25, both soldiers like him. They have been desperately waiting to go on their next assignments and are now over the moon because they are finally off. One to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. He says they take the same approach to possible death or capture as he did. Put up with it, get on with it, and never give in.
May 14, 2007 at 7:57 am
Well, I shed a tear as he announced his departure. He wiull be judged mre kindly than now sems likely, worth remembering that Harold Wilson suffered traducement also, but his reputation has recovered.
I hope, as you do Blairfriend, he does use his talents in pursuading people to adopt policies to combat global warming. See also http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/climate_change/article2539349.ece its not just the Americans and other wicked successful consumerist countries at fault.
I much enjoyed Gordon Brown’s campaign launch press conference, not least for the misplaced autocue which was so widely derided! I bet the BBC fought to get a camera placed so it obscured Brown’s face to have an anti Brown take!
As I suggested oft times elsewhere and here he is more personable and relaxed now he doesn’t have to do his dour responsible Scottish bank-manager Chancellor bit.
A subsequent public appearance also showed him joking and smiling, like a duck to water, even if he is not going to be TB Mk 11!
I have heard that he doesn’t intend to serve more than one more full term, when will GordonBrownsupporter begin his/her work! LOL!
Take care!
May 15, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Hi there Tony!
Great to hear from you.
Well I hope it doesn’t take as long as it’s taken for Wilson to be recognised as not such a bad bloke really! Otherwise Mr Blair will be six feet under, possibly.
Yes, his farewell was moving but then that’s his great gift, isn’t it? The communicator par excellence. I hesitate to say “final farewell”. I’m hoping there will be yet another one - perhaps outside Downing Street ;0(
Tell you something - my blog traffic has multiplied since then - sometimes tenfold per day. That traffic will drift away, unfortunately, as people return to their usual apathy.
Although I think Blair, probably uniquely, could grab the bull by the horns on the global warming question, I’m not sure if he will. I understand that for several reasons he wants to become an ambassador for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East. This is mocked by some, as you can imagine. But due to the backlash from Iraq, and the disastrous effect the liberal press and intelligentsia have had on his reputation and credibility, I think he wants to do what he can to repair this - the character and integrity thing he told John Humphrys he wouldn’t “beg for”. Got to be worrying him, hasn’t it?
He also has a deep religious faith, as we know, and possibly has some personal needs there.
BUT I DO NOT WANT HIM TO GO OUT THERE TO TACKLE THESE MADMEN.
I think he could be in great personal danger. Imagine having Blair as a hostage! God, the thought. The American president would feel compelled to act in some cataclysmic way. Given this scenario the only way this could be avoided is if Blair were to issue some pre-recorded video message, to be released on the event of his capture. Here he’d need to insist that he should be allowed to die rather than be rescued. Nor should attack be made on his behalf.
Then he’d be a martyr - so that’s all right then - place in heaven guaranteed. That’ll larn the terrorists - two can play at that game.
Shouldn’t joke about this. It could have serious consequences for all of us.
So Brown’s been acting the ‘dour Scottish bank manager”. Wow! And I thought he was supposed to be genuine and not given to personality or showbiz politics. If he doesn’t intend to serve more than one full term - that takes us up to 8 years - 2015! Not a bad reward for Brutus. (Sorry).
Didn’t know the BBC was anti-Brown. You could have fooled me.
You’d better get your ‘Support Brown’ site up and running now - just in case.
Anyway, Tony, good luck to you and those who support Brown - I suppose he’s better than the REAL Blair Mark II - Cameron - but I’m yet to be convinced.
Strange you should get in touch - you might be interested in a reference I made on this site -
http://democracyfrontline.org/blog/?p=2087
All the best.
P.S. Gordon’s going to have a rough month or so in the press if he continues to disown such policies as the infamous 75p pension rise. Wasn’t that HIS rise? Wasn’t HE the chancellor? “Learning from mistakes” made in Blair’s government, indeed? Would that be the two-headed creature that B & B created?
May 16, 2007 at 2:56 pm
We in America, the solid majority, thank deeply and appreciate PM’s alliance with us on Iraq. He, to many of us, has been today’s Churchill. We will miss him much especially in view of the Muslim goal of taking over England by numbers and then….
May 16, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Thank you for your comment, Mr Nilson. The British ‘liberal’ press has a lot to answer for, something I refer to on this page today. The public has been seduced into thinking that ‘lies’ (unproven) on WMDs and the cash-for-honours questions (also unproven) should damn this prime minister to hell. They are WRONG, so wrong. We have a BIG problem with terrorism, but of course when the next one hits us (maybe even before he leaves on June 27th) the British press will say HE fomented it by supporting President Bush in Iraq.
I suppose it is HIS FAULT!!!
His education policy is taking a while to kick in. When it finally does - if we’re all still free - only then will the public think more deeply about cause and effect.
Mr Blair is in your country as I write, talking with the president.
Perhaps they’ll have something new to say. At the moment words are all they have. Darn it - as you folks would say! Why does everything remind me of a song these days ;0)
Many thanks for your comment.
P.S. To this - and you know what happened to Churchill after the 2nd world war, don’t you? Got booted out of power with his party at the next general election. We don’t always recognise a winner when he’s right in front of us, it would seem. Hmm..mm
May 16, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Hope like you TB doesn’t concentrate on the Middle East - he is so associated with Israel that his only influence would be on them, and they are not the only party which needs to move.
His greater skills are, as you say, in communicating to the public, and as Randy Nilson suggests above the Americans love him! Convincing people the world round that Global Warming exists and that we must take action would be invaluable.
I have said before that Bordon Brown has been acting the dour Scottish bank-manager Chancellor, even more convincing in that role than the more amiable John Smith.
As Gordon sad he has spent 13 years saying No” to colleagues re spending and that doesn’t lead to mirth all round, does it?
And it hardly is play acting, but none the less he has been in role in public quite a bit, quite genuine I would say though.
But it was vital to ensure electability, and if you remember Roy Hattersley as shadow Chancellor you may understand how vital that was, and still is . . . Alastaire Darling is the next Chief Grouch perhaps?
I never studied “Julius Caesar” at school as a play, but Brutus stabbed Caesar in the back; and was he at worst the co-author of the dictatorship project which Caesar carried out?
No doubt one day it will be clear who had the greater role in developing the ideas which have guided this Government, it is unlikely Brown had a smaller part than Blair, certainly he was more senior in the party’s estimation before John Smith became leader.
I wonder if we shall ever have made clear who agreed to what in that restaurant?
The BBC’s anti Blair mode is moving on, BRown is the target now,but it is becomeing harder as he gets out of being Chancellor and is becoming the front man. At times it is a softer option.
And if he thinks they made mistakes, and some were his, the public are likely to welcome his honesty.
I looked at the article your link showed and will return. It seems to me that there is far too much pussyfooting around the vocabulary needed to address the proponants and apologists of Islamo-fascism.
The Nazis in Hitler’s Germany were not primarily promoting Christianity so Nazi is enough of a word for them and their anti-semitic insanity.
If we are denied the full use of our language to address the extreme Islamic Terrorists then we are being expected to fight with one arm tied behind our backs.
My son, broadly Christian, is still happy with his Kurdistani ladyfriend, who is Muslim, whose mother is Muslim, and whose father has had enough I gather, and claims to be an Atheist I believe.
Vive les amants!
May 17, 2007 at 3:47 pm
In light of Mr. Blair’s too soon departure, I was searching the internet and very glad to come upon your blog. I’m disappointed by all the criticism I’ve heard - it’s very sad! I wanted to let you know how much (most of) us in America appreciate your Prime Minister. I think a recent poll showed that Mr. Blair has a 70% approval rating here, though the Queen wins with 80%
It’s been a tough few years - with 9/11 and Afghanistan and Iraq - and his friendship and the friendship of Great Britain, has been invaluable in a time when many were unwilling to offer friendship, yet alone actual support and assistance. I know he has paid a high price for that support, and it means a lot that he was willing to do what he did - it’s very rare and I can’t help thinking that it will be a huge loss when he’s gone! I think the large majority of Americans, even those who disagree with the war in Iraq or the way its been handled, still appreciate the support of a friend and admire someone so obviously talented and thoughtful. I’ve read some of the reactions to Mr. Blair’s Sedgefield speech and they strike me as very odd. I have heard comments that he sounded arrogant. Believe me, he sounded very humble to us!
I think Mr. Blair is perhaps the premier communicator of his time. I have always been very impressed by his ability in that regard and even more so by his attempt to achieve peace in countries around the world and to eliminate poverty, especially in regard to Africa. I wish your country a lot of luck in the future. Gordon Brown seems like a good man, but Tony will certainly be missed! I think and certainly hope that in the future will we see the fruits of what has been begun by Mr. Blair, in Iraq and all around the world.
I wrote a tribute of sorts to Mr. Blair on a conservative website, Redstate, which I am linking to you in case you are interested. Great job on the website. I certainly appreciate it.
http://www.redstate.com/blogs/diane/2007/may/17/the_brave_mr_blair_reflections_on_the_legacy_of_americas_greatest_friend
May 17, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Dear Diane,
Thank you so much for your comment.
As so often, it seems Tony Blair, the ‘prophet in his own land’ is unrecognised at home and it takes others to point out to most of us (not me - because it’s CLEAR to me) but to MOST of us Brits, that we have lived through the time of one of the strongest and most principled, radical and most successful political leaders this country has had.
I am sure that history will be kinder to him than the British liberal intelligentsia, and perhaps history will start in the next few weeks or months, who KNOWS!?
I have been to your site and I have to tell you, Diane, your article moved me. Y’know, I’m no soft cookie; but, reading your article - well. I think the reason is not so much that Mr Blair is going and he’s been mutinously disposed of - but that I don’t think any other leader in this country “gets it”. And ‘getting it’ could mean life or death. We have a MAJOR problem with fundamentalism in this country and throughout the world. And if Gordon Brown DOES understand, what is he going to DO about it? No-one is even ASKING! The press have blindfolds on; they think Blair and Bush invented terrorism! Or that when Blair is gone, so too will be the threats.
Brown is going to be busy persuading us all that he is NOT Tony Blair and is actually “in touch with the people” on education, health and other domestic issues. He won’t want to upset them by seeming to be close to Bush, who is even less popular here than Blair. But meanwhile after all of this, Brown is still less popular than Blair. Mind boggling.
Brown does not have any of Blair’s charisma or natural communication skills and it is flummoxing me as to why people are treating Brown as the new kid on the block. He’s been around for 10 years as, true, a most successful finance minister (Chancellor) but above all else he will feel the need to distant himself from Blair and Iraq, even though he has supported Blair throughout the whole Iraq business. If he disagreed but felt constrained, why didn’t he walk out of government in 2003? And together both of them initiated the policies in their joint New Labour project.
And the idea that it is all about “trust”! How puerile! I want a leader I can trust with the defence of my country, and I’ve got one already.
The trust (or lack of) factor is over-stated. The press here are SURE that THEY know that Blair lied about WMDs, despite inquiries concluding that he did not. The police and press have pursued Blair and his staff relentlessly over the ‘cash-for-honours’ business, as though democracy itself depended on it. And yet British democracy has been largely dependent on this kind of financial contribution for titles & whistles & bells for centuries.
Apart from the press, it’s partly his party too. He has moved Labour to the right too much for them. And the very fact that your Conservative website appreciates him only confirms that, and old Labour’s point. For me, it’s exactly what we need - fewer party divisions, more agreement on common ground.
Now the Conservatives have adopted HIS policies - the latest being Blair’s Trust Schools, while they have decided to stop supporting grammar schools (a long-standing Conservative mainstay). And apart from that their leader, David Cameron is clearly Blair Mark II, (though without the policies and principles.)
Anyway, it’s beyond tragic. I think it won’t be long before we regret it.
Btw, I’ve tried to sign up at your blog but haven’t had a confirmation e-mail. I’ll try again later - in case I entered the e-mail address wrongly.
I’ll link to your site and article and possibly paste the whole thing in here if you don’t mind.
Many thanks again for your comment, Diane.
May 18, 2007 at 7:58 am
Hope, like you, TB doesn’t concentrate on the Middle East - he is so associated with Israel that his only influence would be on them, and they are not the only party which needs to move.
His greater skills are, as you say, in communicating to the public, and as Randy Nilson suggests above the Americans love him! Convincing people the world round that Global Warming exists and that we must take action would be invaluable.
I have said before that Gordon Brown has been acting the dour Scottish bank-manager Chancellor, even more convincing in that role than the more amiable John Smith.
As Gordon said he has spent 13 years saying No” to colleagues re spending and that doesn’t lead to mirth all round, does it?
And it hardly is play acting, but none the less he has been in role in public quite a bit, quite genuine I would say, suggesting that everyone should be carefull sort of thing.
But it was vital to ensure electability, and if you remember Roy Hattersley as shadow Chancellor you may understand how vital that was, and still is . . . Alastair Darling is the next Chief Grouch perhaps?
I cannot remember a friendly, laughing British Chancellor, can you? Butler? Maudling - and Frost et al took the mickey? Lloyd? Healey occasionally? Jenkins? Lawson? Gaitskell?
That boozy jazz guy the Tories had last usually looked pretty sombre too and, of course, they lost the election to TB and Gordo on his watch didn’t they?
I never studied “Julius Caesar” at school as a play, but Brutus stabbed Caesar in the back; and was he the co-author of the dictatorship project which Caesar carried out?
No doubt one day it will be clear who had the greater role in developing the ideas which have guided this Government, it is unlikely Brown had a smaller part than Blair, certainly he was more senior in the party’s estimation before John Smith became leader.
I wonder if we shall ever have made clear who agreed to what in that restaurant?
The BBC’s anti Blair mode is moving on, Brown is the target now.
And if he thinks they made mistakes, and some were his, the public are likely to welcome his honesty.
He mentioned Terrorism on the radio interview I heard as one of the key problems - I think he said there are 50 - 60 Al Queda groups worldwide.
I looked at the article your link showed and will return. It seems to me that there is far too much pussyfooting around the vocabulary needed to address the proponents and apologists of Islamo-fascism.
The Nazis in Hitler’s Germany were not primarily promoting Christianity so Nazi is enough of a word for them and their anti-semitic insanity.
If we are denied the full use of our language to address the extreme Islamic Terrorists then we are being expected to fight with one arm tied behind our backs.
I share a flat with 3 others, including an Algerian muslim (prob not practicing) and we get on fine.
My son, broadly Christian, is still happy with his Kurdistani ladyfriend, who is Muslim, whose mother is Muslim, and whose father has had enough I gather, and claims to be an Atheist I believe.
Vive les amoureux!
May 18, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Tony,
It might be that Blair takes the World Bank President’s job, since I believe it is in the gift of Bush. The he really willbe called “president”. Good eh?
I would still like him to grab the climate problems - but I’m happy to watch what happens. Whatever, it is clear as day he is not finished, in ANY way.
It wasn’t hard to see in their joint press conference yesterday that he is genuinely enormously admired by Bush. The reasons for that have been aired recently and not aired to flatter Blair from the British point of view. But from the American side? Quite different. They see him as the voice of reason steadying the hand of their cowboy president.
If the Americans had been on their own without the UK in their ‘fight against terrorism’ can you imagine? Either nuclear war or the game would have been lost, and who would have been running the world now? I prefer the hegemony of the USA, thanks very much.
And if Blair gets involved in SOME US-based area in future he will have further political influence with the USA which many out there would like.
Brown - well, I still can’t quite work out whether you mean he IS acting or WAS acting. Whatever he’s got a hard act to follow now in his new job.
Jenkins was an amiable chancellor and often considered the best before Brown came along. He again was well-read and bright. And of course one of Blair’s main mentors in New Labour.
So Honest Gord is doing something Blair hasn’t done is he? WHAT? Apologising? For what? When? I must have missed it.
Eschewing the ‘publicity savvy’ thing? Even the young Brownites picture at his meeting the other day would have been considered TOO blatantly luvvy for Blair ten years ago!
As you can see I have a problem giving Brown too much of my time or attention. I may change in time, but the wounds are still raw, as it were.
I don’t know why people think Blair has not admitted to making mistakes. He did last week, though how daft to think he’d spell them out, then hand over the crown to Brown with broken, disowned policies.
He seems not to accept that Iraq was a mistake - or he may not believe that in the ongoing conflict it would make sense to admit it or spell out the nature of the mistakes.
And he’s right! Why do critics think he should? Have they NO political nous at ALL? It might provide a chuckle, or more likely sneering satisfaction to see a Blair confessional, tears rolling down his cheeks - but COME ON PEOPLE. Get real. It ain’t gonna happen.
This is BIG BOYS stuff, not playing soldiers.
I too tried to post at Diane’s site (above) with problems as you had. I e-mailed them from the site to let them know their system isn’t working, so we’ll see if she gets back to me.
Yes, I agree about the use of language - and it’s OUR language. Others can use it and corrupt it to exclaim extreme bahaviour against us but we in liberal Britain must be above that. Worrying, when even I feel myself becoming restless. But guess what - I don’t blame Tony Blair.
It’s all the press’s fault ;0)
Got to blame SOMEBODY - it’s the law!
Ref - your use of language thing, Tony - you are right. And I think most of us get on well with people of all religions and nationalities. THAT is not the problem per se. We know what the problem is, and we know that the politicians can’t spell it out too clearly. They might AFTER the next atrocity.
May 24, 2007 at 4:09 pm
As an American, we will be sorry to see Mr.Blair leave office.He is one of the best friends that my country has ever had . He will be missed. He should stay. To bad he can’t run for President of the U.S. .We would be glad to have him.
May 24, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Yes, Mr Walker. Why don’t you change your constitution?
I was watching the press conference of Mr Bush today and I kept harking back to their joint conference last week. The President manages quite well, but he doesn’t quite hack it in the persuasion business, does he?
Having said that, Blair DOES communicate effortlessly and eloquently, but the antis over here are so vehement and SO illogically convinced that he is ‘evil personified’ that they will never be convinced.
Basically they do not accept the arguments about international or home-grown terrorism. So, it could be argued that in that inability to persuade, Tony Blair has failed.
Or could it be that many Brits these days are just blind & deaf? (Though definitely not dumb!)
There are other descriptive words I could use for some of my fellow countrymen, but I promised to keep this blog polite!
Thanks for your kind words.
June 12, 2007 at 10:27 pm
To their credit the Telegraph carries the ful text of Blair’s speech: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/12/nmedia212.xml&page=1
Ironically his reference to the Independent as a “viewspaper” was not properly reported on the BBC News 24, even in its supine interview with that “Viewspaper’s” editor.
It often used to be said that newspapers had lost their influence to tv, but this was never true while the broadcast media ape and entertain their print media cousins.The same back scratching buddies and toadies will crticise any politician whom they disaproove of who wisely defends his back by trying to get a fair hearing.
So Trevor Kavanagh is trotted out unashamed to continue his anti Labour lies and disingenuities at any opportunity.
It is a disgrace, and will continue to be.
June 13, 2007 at 12:04 am
TV coverage doesn’t bother me. It’s usually balanced because of their code of conduct; newspapers are a whole different ball game, and it’s definitely not cricket!
Blair still talks a good talk. Trouble for our press is he also walks the walk - and that irritates them. They’d only be impressed if he walked the plank!
Yes, read the Telegraph’s coverage. Will go on to write a new post on this and the G8. Will have to get a move on as this ‘lame duck’ moves too fast to keep up with much of the time.
How’s the (invisible) chancellor these days, Tony? Haven’t heard much recently. Oh, yes, I recall he was in Baghdad the other day - said something about decision making on wars to be more collegiate. Bit of a cop-out on big decisions maybe? Debate them long enough and the problem will resolve itself. And anyway, didn’t ALL the cabinet and the majority in parliament vote ‘yes’ with Blair on Iraq? What short memories a lot of people have. If they now can’t stand the heat THEY should be getting out of the kitchen, not the Master Chef.
Oh, I’ll