To think Tony Blair should realise no one cares what he thinks

[Missingstreetlife]

He is lucky not to have been prosecuted for his illegal actions in Iraq, which by the way we didn't vote for but loads of us demonstrated against

I like to hear his views and those of other exPMs.

Have you bothered to read that article dulra? Are you suggesting that the Guardian publishes Tory ‘propaganda’. LOL.

Major and Reynolds did the hard work but Blair tied up the loose ends then grandstanded about it?

Mighty I presume you meant that for me. You have one solitary frankly rediculous source for that notion that Tony Blair signed on the dotted line of the GF agreement. I was there reading the million articles at the time. Living though it. So no I don’t think that once ever piece of pro Tory bs from the guardian is representative of what went on at the time. Ian Paisley, Gerry Adams, George Mitchell, Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair were absolutely the main protagonists in getting the good Friday agreement across the line, if you believe otherwise that is up to you.

What am I talking about QuiteLikely5??? I am talking about the first thing Tony Blair backed in office. I studied it for my Government and Politics A Level and it was horrible at the time after the 'joy' at the General Election.

www.independent.co.uk/news/blair-backs-harman-over-cut-in-lone-parent-benefit-1295256.html

This is just one of the sneaky things Tony Blair did that seems to have been conveniently forgotten by you and so many others.

It’s not one source, have a google there are loads of them. I chose that one because it would be obvious to anybody who was the slightest bit informed about media and current affairs it was an unbiased one. And I’m not going to take history lessons from someone who has the ‘rediculous’ notion that the Guardian posts ‘pro-Tory bs’.

You fell for spin. You didn’t bother to research further. Well done.

I can't believe the deference to any politician on this thread, never mind Tony Blair. I know someone who worked closely beside TB in the early years and came to realise he was a two faced snake who'd do or say whatever was necessary to get what he wanted.
The completely unnecessary Iraq War has destabilised the region for decades. You can trace the rise of Isis to the war and how the Allied governments handled the aftermath. But all the pro TB posters here live in a nice cosy democracy so why should you care about the suffering caused by the Iraq war?

Still cringe when I hear the phrase “shoulder to shoulder”, thanks Tone.

I studied it for my Government and Politics A Level and it was horrible at the time after the 'joy' at the General Election.

I lived it, as did millions of others. It most certainly was not as you describe

So you know it all just because you studied it at A level! 😂

Like I said Tony Blair was very very generous to single parents/low earners

Too generous at times

I lived it, as did millions of others. It most certainly was not as you describe

Eh? Are you completely missing my point? Tony Blair cut single parent benefit as one of the first things to do in office. I am not describing anything. Just stating a fact.

Cutting single parent benefit after stating in your manifesto that you wouldn't, is a good thing is it?

Doesn't matter if it personally didn't make a difference to your life - the cut happened. This was shocking at the time and a sign of the shift from left to centre-right with Tony and Gordon.

So you know it all just because you studied it at A level!

Which is why I also posted an article referencing it, which you have conveniently ignored. You cannot deny that he did that at that time.
Please stop mis-quoting me. It was because I was studying it that I remembered that fact about Tony Blair, that is all.

I remember the Peace Process from being around at the time. My memory is of going to my mum's and, when she opened the door, the first thing we did was say what a relief and a great thing it was. That was the very beginning which was John Major and John Hulme(?)

Tony Blair. Still very popular in Sierra Leone, I'm told... And of course, with his despotic, oligarchic chums. But as always, one rule for them, and another for we proles, who can't be trusted to know what's good for us

John Major worked on it from 1993-1997 and took us from an adversarial point to the UK and Ireland working towards peace. There wasn’t a massive amount of grandstanding about it especially towards the end of his premiership as he was a weakened PM and if it had run into significant opposition in either UK or NI it would have finished it off.

John Major did all of the hard work and diplomacy getting it to May 1997 and normalising UK/Ireland relations. There wasn’t a huge deal about it because pre-1997 and the birth of ‘spin’ politics was done very differently. What it did need for the final stages was a government with a strong majority to push through the final stages which is what Blair did.

Major and the Tories actually did most of the difficult diplomacy repairing the damage of the Thatcher years well before Blair was in power.

If you’ve fallen for the lie that peace in NI only came about because of new Labour then you have fallen for spin. And yes, Tony Blair did take the credit because he has always been incredibly vocal about how he ‘brought peace’ to NI, particularly when he is trying to convince people he is capable of bringing peace to the ME. And his level of success there is perhaps a better indication of his statesmanship than a 3/4 finished job he tied up the tail end of.

People may say ‘oh, I remember, Labour did it all and it wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for them’. But you’re actually remembering the spin you were told and not the facts.

It was Major who first started the dialogue with the IRA that led to peace too:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/uk/1993/nov/28/northernireland

Forget what you think you remember, go and do some proper research from unbiased sources rather than relying on half remembered Labour spin.

John Major wasn't really the type to grandstand was he? (Not there were many opportunities during his term in office(.
Of course let's not forget Tony Blair saved the monarchy over the death of Diana. I am of course being sarcastic.

I don't care what he thinks. I haven't voted Labour since the Iraq War. If he had any integrity, he would avoid playing a role in public life since his decisions as PM cost many lives.
As for the Blairites in the party who wheel him out at every opportunity, they should realise he hinders their causes rather than helping them. But I guess he's a good barometer of how out of touch certain facets of the Labour party are.

He's divisive. As was Margaret Thatcher, some people will rave about how fantastic she was, others have a less positive opinion of her.

I grew up in the South Wales valleys so you can probably make a guess at my opinion of Thatcher. Blair and New Labour did do much that was positive, the minimum wage for example - I knew people working for £1/hr or less before its introduction and while you can argue it was too low it was considerably better than that.

The shit show that is current politics makes him look positively electable.

I was right behind him until he allowed himself to be flattered by the Americans and consequently sent our troops to be slaughtered in a pointless war.

YABU. You don't always have to agree with people, maybe just think about an opposing or different viewpoint. I'd listen to him and others if they had more knowledge and experience etc. Keep an open mind.

I totally accept that the Blair government did a lot of good such as the minimum wage and investment in schools. However Blair himself has no credibility. It is arguable that the invasion of Iraq was illegal and he, therefore, is a war criminal. Note that I said arguable. It was also incredibly arrogant and naive to think that they could remove a dictator and install a democratic regime. I actually have a masters degree in Politics and based on my studies, couldn't fathom how anyone thought Iraq could become a democracy overnight. How on earth did none of the many advisors in Downing Street and the White House point this out? Iraq will go through decades of violence and instability thanks to the Iraq war. It really is a stain on our country. Of course I also blame Parliament for not challenging the government.

I care what he thinks because he's the best PM we had in decades.

Tony Blair is very charismatic. You’d want him on your side.

I have no interest in anything he has to say unless it’s at alongside Bush at The Hague.

Beenandgone, I’m glad I’m not the only person to remember Dr David Kelly.