Blair knighthood

[Mummyrowland]

Nearly half a million people have signed a petition over his knighthood in 48 hours.

It should be removed and he shouldn't be awarded it.

After all what did he do that was good?

What about all the squaddies he sent to their deaths over the supposed wmds?

High ranking members of the armed forces are threatening resignation if his award isn't reconsider

We really need to stop the worship of Churchill, the man was a racist and enabled horrific atrocities.
This 'Great Empire' is a nonsense.

The petition will achieve absolutely nothing. Over 6 million people signed a petition to revoke article 50. That was ignored.
Personally I am more annoyed about the fact we have the newspaper owner, Lebedev, son of a KGB agent, currently deciding on UK laws sitting in the House of Lords alongside several undeserving Tory donors and Johnson's brother.

@42isthemeaning

The petition will achieve absolutely nothing. Over 6 million people signed a petition to revoke article 50. That was ignored. Personally I am more annoyed about the fact we have the newspaper owner, Lebedev, son of a KGB agent, currently deciding on UK laws sitting in the House of Lords alongside several undeserving Tory donors and Johnson's brother.

Me too! No one is raising petitions about that

The Tory party is totally in hock to Putins Russia, they pretty much fund the party, the Tories have also allowed huge amounts of Russian money to be invested in London and even when Putin committed murder here in the UK, the Tory response was even weaker than the USA's

...and thats before we get to why a man (Cummings) who spent several years in Russia was allowed to become Gove's and then BJ's closest advisor, who then did Putins bidding and got us out of the EU.

Quite incredible that the tory response is always "....but Labour" or in this thread "....but Blair"

@OnaBegonia

We really need to stop the worship of Churchill, the man was a racist and enabled horrific atrocities. This 'Great Empire' is a nonsense.

He stopped the biggest atrocity of all time. Hitler’s annihilation of six million Jews hasn’t registered on your radar?

and even when Putin committed murder here in the UK

What are you smoking and where can I get it?

Slavering xenophobia is rife in all UK parties. It's a vote grabber among people like you.

I agree with the person above who says he deserves the knighthood AND he deserves to be in jail.

He did a great deal of damage by hanging on the US's coat-tails with Iraq (and yes lets not forget the Tories voted for the action in Iraq please) and Bush was a moron for deciding to finish what daddy hadn't finished. But he did a great deal of good for the UK as well, much of which the current administration would dearly love to dismantle and has dismantled.

@luckylavender

Iraq was a terrible error of judgement - but supported by the Tories, a fact that many people chose to overlook. Other than that he won 3 elections and did an awful lot of good, not least the GFA. Compared to the current government he was a saint.

Indeed. Look forward to the same petition for Cameron and Johnson….

And how did Churchill stop the holocaust? He knew it was happening and allowed it to continue because he didn't want to "waste" resources. He let Coventry be bombed so the Germans didn't know we had radar. He agreed to the bombing of Dresden knowing it wouldn't affect the war effort and was more of a show of strength to the Soviets.

You can justify all of those things as we can look back with hindsight but he definitely isn't the greatest Briton of all time.

Funny how the bombing of Yugoslavia almost never gets a mention among Blair crimes on this site. It's because dead Slav = good Slav among the chattering classes here.

@SpankyPankhurst

and even when Putin committed murder here in the UK

What are you smoking and where can I get it?

Slavering xenophobia is rife in all UK parties. It's a vote grabber among people like you.

Russia using nerve agent and radio active materials on UK citizens doesn't worry you?

Only expelling a few diplomats is an ok response, whilst taking Russian money to fund your party, handing out citizenship and elevating to Lords all ok in your world.

... but thanks for proving my point on tory response to glaring errors/corruption "...but Labour"

@SpankyPankhurst

Funny how the bombing of Yugoslavia almost never gets a mention among Blair crimes on this site. It's because dead Slav = good Slav among the chattering classes here.

Your warming to your theme now aren't you?

How else was that war and the genocide within it going to end? it was also a NATO mission, not a Blair one.

Russia using nerve agent and radio active materials on UK citizens doesn't worry you?
I would be concerned had Russia done this. But I don't think government accusations or findings by the kangaroo court that is the ECHR = proof.

Without a doubt the war was morally wrong but it would have been incredibly risky - and potentially irresponsible - for Blair to refuse to fall in with the USA given that the UK was expecting any moment to be visited by a similar atrocity to 9/11, and UK defence had been so diminished that we were dependent on the USA in a crisis. I think it must have been a nightmare decision to make.

I think forty-seven or so countries besides the UK made the same decision to support the war. France interestingly refused but they were in a slightly different position politically to the UK.

Your lack of concern for the hundreds of civilians in Belgrade murdered by a rain of bombs is unsurprising- most people here criticising Blair for Iraq don't focus on the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead, only on British losses.

All Blairites have blood on their hands, as do Cameronites and May-lovers. You support the murder of foreign civilians.

YANBU. Personally the Iraq war was the one thing Blair did that I agreed with, but that aside he was an appalling Prime Minister who did more damage to the country than any PM before or since - I include Boris Johnson in that assessment, admittedly he might do something worse in the time remaining in office.

Blair ruined the country in so many ways. Tuition fees - Blair. The neverendum - Blair. Taking a booming economy and busting it - Blair. Making spin and appearances count more than truth and facts - Blair.

We're still paying for the Blair years, indeed we'll be paying the price of them for decades to come. WWII was being paid off for generations, the same will be true of Blair.

The only appointment he should be getting from Her Majesty should be a prolonged stay in one of her prisons.

@Blossomtoes
Churchill prevented the Holocaust?
If he had 6m wouldn't have died, would they?
Deary me take your rose tinted specs off.

@SlamCrump

Without a doubt the war was morally wrong but it would have been incredibly risky - and potentially irresponsible - for Blair to refuse to fall in with the USA given that the UK was expecting any moment to be visited by a similar atrocity to 9/11, and UK defence had been so diminished that we were dependent on the USA in a crisis. I think it must have been a nightmare decision to make.

I think forty-seven or so countries besides the UK made the same decision to support the war. France interestingly refused but they were in a slightly different position politically to the UK.

Then why not be honest about your motivations? Why not produce honest evidence, not a thesis, not decades old intel, but up to date, honest evidence and say why you're going in? Instead Campbells office created Intel that the Americans then used as evidence that WMDs existed. Even mow Blair isn't saying he went in because he had no choice, he's saying he went in because he felt it was right to be seen supporting the US. So if you're right, he lied why we went into Iraq and he's still lying now.

[quote OnaBegonia]@Blossomtoes
Churchill prevented the Holocaust?
If he had 6m wouldn't have died, would they?
Deary me take your rose tinted specs off.[/quote]
I didn’t say that, did I? Prevention and halting don’t mean the same thing. Perhaps you should put your specs on.

@SpankyPankhurst

Russia using nerve agent and radio active materials on UK citizens doesn't worry you? I would be concerned had Russia done this. But I don't think government accusations or findings by the kangaroo court that is the ECHR = proof.

Who do you think did it?

Invasion of Iraq was a terrible decision but along with the Tories , 254 Labour MP's voted for it.

@MorningStarling

YANBU. Personally the Iraq war was the one thing Blair did that I agreed with, but that aside he was an appalling Prime Minister who did more damage to the country than any PM before or since - I include Boris Johnson in that assessment, admittedly he might do something worse in the time remaining in office.

Blair ruined the country in so many ways. Tuition fees - Blair. The neverendum - Blair. Taking a booming economy and busting it - Blair. Making spin and appearances count more than truth and facts - Blair.

We're still paying for the Blair years, indeed we'll be paying the price of them for decades to come. WWII was being paid off for generations, the same will be true of Blair.

The only appointment he should be getting from Her Majesty should be a prolonged stay in one of her prisons.

Quite the take

@HarrietPierce

Invasion of Iraq was a terrible decision but along with the Tories , 254 Labour MP's voted for it.

On false evidence that Blair and Campbell compiled!

@PlanetNormal

It’s such a difficult issue.

I was a very proud Blairite when I was a Labour activist in a very important marginal constituency in the 90s. After decades in the wilderness, Labour had finally decided it was serious about winning, and I wanted to do my bit. I met Blair several times when he campaigned in our seat and he is by far the most charismatic person I have ever spent time with. When we won in 1997, the feeling of elation made all the hard work worthwhile.

What followed over the next six years made me even prouder : The minimum wage, massive investment in schools & hospitals which slashed waiting lists, a strong economy, Sure Start, civil partnerships, Britain at the heart of Europe. The list of achievements goes on and on. For six years Blair was by far the best PM of my lifetime.

Then he lost his mind over Iraq, and I left the Labour Party in protest, totally disillusioned and betrayed that the government I campaigned for could launch an illegal war based on a dossier of lies. Does he deserve a knighthood? In many ways, yes. Does he deserve to be in jail? In many ways, yes. And that is why he will always be such a divisive figure.

Great post.

Then why not be honest about your motivations? Why not produce honest evidence, not a thesis, not decades old intel, but up to date, honest evidence and say why you're going in? Instead Campbells office created Intel that the Americans then used as evidence that WMDs existed. Even mow Blair isn't saying he went in because he had no choice, he's saying he went in because he felt it was right to be seen supporting the US.
So if you're right, he lied why we went into Iraq and he's still lying now.

You won't get any arguments from me on those points. But that's the reality of politics. It's not pretty.

And it's much easier to view complex issues more clearly (a) in hindsight and (b) when one is not the person ultimately responsible for the security of the country.