Tony Blair keep your nose out

[billysboy]

When will this odious individual just clear off

I thought he was supposed to be sorting out the middle east ?

He thinks we have forgotten his illegal war , selling our gold , creating millions of jobs and then giving them all away , his little twist on the Good Friday Agreement allowing immunity for IRA bombers, his millions of pounds and multiple homes , I could go on

I would love him to just Feck off and stay in oblivion !

unreasonable ?

Have you forgotten how well off we all were.

Lots of spending but it wasn't sustainable. He got the glory of the spending knowing the next government would have the hard job of reigning it in and dealing with the debt.

Never been a massive fan of Blair for all of the above reasons.

He was right yesterday though. It needed saying and bloody good on him for saying it.

Why should he keep his nose out? As by far the most successful of Labour’s postwar leaders - even if you don’t like him - surely you can see his opinion could be relevant.

As the only Labour politician to lead his party to a general election victory, in the last 50 years, they should listen and very carefully.

At present they are a fucking shambles.

Lots of spending but it wasn't sustainable. He got the glory of the spending knowing the next government would have the hard job of reigning it in and dealing with the debt.

That is utterly untrue. The UK did not run a large deficit under Blair. Thatcher, Major, Cameron and May all ran much bigger deficits.

There was a big increase in the deficit under Brown, because of the crash. I would argue Cameron's huge cuts to capital investment made that worse.

Blair's only major economic failures were the signing of many new PFIs and the deregulation of the banks; we had a longer period of economic stability than any in recent history.

That is utterly untrue. The UK did not run a large deficit under Blair. Thatcher, Major, Cameron and May all ran much bigger deficits.

But shouldn't you keep an eye on the wider picture when in government? During a period of economic boom, shouldn't we have been saving and paying back more of the deficit, rather than spending hand over fist so that when the economy inevitably took a downturn again we'd have a cushion against it?

Blair was a terrible PM. I couldn't understand why people voted for him

What has he actually said ?

Phone Tony. Weapons of mass destruction, er , where?

Btec Conservative.

That is utterly untrue. The UK did not run a large deficit under Blair. Thatcher, Major, Cameron and May all ran much bigger deficits.

Only because Blair/Brown "paid for" the new hospitals, schools, etc on credit via PFI deals that our grandchildren will be paying for. If they actually paid for their spending year by year, the deficit would have been a lot higher than the Thatcher/Major years.

Cameron & May's deficits were inherited because of Brown/Blairs' PFI and the fallout from the financial crash, so completely different.

During a period of economic boom, shouldn't we have been saving and paying back more of the deficit

I agree completely, but no government ever fucking does. That was not, however, the point made. The idea that Blair (really Brown) was worse at running the economy than other PMs is laughable to anyone fair minded.

Only because Blair/Brown "paid for" the new hospitals, schools, etc on credit via PFI deals that our grandchildren will be paying for.

I referred to that in my PP, it was stupid; but even treating PFI as invisible debt:
a) it's nowhere near the scale of borrowing the others ran (perhaps excluding Major's last 2 years- Clarke was an excellent chancellor).
b) it's capital investment, not borrowing to pay for everyday spending. We still own the hospitals it bought.

He’s right though........ couldn’t have worded it better myself!

I looked up Blair’s age today, at 66 he could come back into parliamentary politics. It’s a shame that labour is now so in momentum’s control that it’ll never ever happen though.

YABU

Yeah he's a cunt, but puts the current offering to shame This

Tony Blair is probably the most hated PM ever, because of Iraq. Or ate least the one with fewest supporters left.

Even when he is valid in what he says, which he probably is about the future direction of the Labour Party, anything he says will be counter-productive for that reason alone.

He said, “The Labour party, by its self-indulgence – and that’s what it was in the end – was the effective handmaiden of Brexit. It’s not our fault, because the fault is with those who advocated it. But our combination of misguided ideology and utter incompetence allowed it to happen,”

And that labour was a “glorified protest movement with cult trimmings, utterly incapable of being a credible government”.

And also
“The choice for Labour is to renew itself as the serious, progressive, non-Conservative competitor for power in British politics, or retreat from such an ambition, in which case over time it will be replaced.”

I agree with him. Another Corbynite leader and I can’t see Labour recovering.

We could with another Tony Blair now.

He is right. But they wont listen to him. They will just keep heading to oblivion.

We could with another Tony Blair now I agree. Tony Blair doesn't need to speak out now. He could enjoy his wealth and privilege. But he comes out again and again. I'm not a Labour supporter but I support TB.

I actually don't think TB is that hated in the real world tbh. Real life views I hear of him are generally pretty positive - most people I know generally had a better time under his premiership than others they've lived through and for most that far outweighs Iraq.

I grew up on a rough council estate. I remember the run up to 97, labour vans going round the streets blasting "things can only get better"...people were optimistic and hopeful and for many things were better.

Yabu for the way you characterise GFA. It was worth it.

Have a lot of time for Tony Blair. Almost feel like have to say it anonymously on mumsnet as it's not an acceptable opinion in wider world . But then I can see good points in nearly all our previous PMs. New Labour had many failings like every government but genuinely cared about making society fairer and did a lot to try and facilitate this outcome. I marched against the Iraq war - typical lefty student - and can't imagine any but the most extreme scenario in which I'd support us going to war, but in some ways it was probably the best decision at the time, to ally ourselves with our most powerful ally. Also agree with recent commentary I read that contrasted our fairly shabby treatment of previous senior politicians in the UK, where there are also very few paths for them to reenter public life, with the respect and second chances given to people in similar roles in the US.

anyfucker www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/election-2019-50829352 here's a link

But then I can see good points in nearly all our previous PMs.

Theresa May?