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Original poster

I'VE JUST SEEN BLAIRS SPEECH FOR THE FIRST TIME AND.....

52 replies

lissielou · 11/05/2007 22:04

im really going to miss him. i know a lot of you dont agree, but at this moment im proud to have had him leading our country for the last 10 years.

OP posts:
questionname · 11/05/2007 23:37

What I heard sounded like a load of vomit inducing self worshipping soundbites

dotcom · 11/05/2007 23:38

I like him too but fear Gordon Brown will not be good at all and send us all to sleep.

There needs to be a bit of a sparkle with a PM and GB has not got it!

Nikki76 · 11/05/2007 23:39

Mmm....I'm sure the people of Iraq will feel nostalgic too....!!!!

Original poster
lissielou · 12/05/2007 06:37

his leadership was not just about iraq! he has made this country a better place to live imho. and my lil bro who has been serving there is adamant that we do need to be in there. its all very well us talking about hpw wrong it is from thousands of miles away in our living rooms without the fear that the people of iraq have had to live with under saddams rule.

and have we forgotten Kosovo? was he wrong there?

OP posts:
DominiConnor · 12/05/2007 07:49

Pretty much every country was wrong about Kosovo.
Britain under Blair was less crap than other European nations. We don't make it all the way to good.
We were too late and too soft.

donnie · 12/05/2007 07:53

I agree with DominiConnor ( amazingly!). If not for Iraq, we would all be singing Blair's praises.

Look at what has happened in Ulster - now that really is a great achievement.

Original poster
lissielou · 12/05/2007 07:55

good point DC.

i just get frustrated when all people talk about when blair is mentioned is iraq. no-one mentions the advances hes made in NI or the stand he made on kosovo or even back at home the fact that women can now take time off to have babies and get paid for it! families on low incomes are better off than ever thanks to tax credits and the surestart vouchers.

i agree that iraq is a huge part of his leadership but thats not all he should be remembered for.

OP posts:
Original poster
lissielou · 12/05/2007 07:56

x-post!

OP posts:
Carmenere · 12/05/2007 08:01

I don't think he is all bad. I think he lost the run of himself regarding Iraq but he was a decent enough PM until then. ALL politicians at that level are self-aggrandising, egotistical liars and as far as that goes he was ok.

donnie · 12/05/2007 08:04

I think another problem is that he has been surrounded by many sleazy types who have tainted the Labour name and brand: Cambell in particular, also Byers and Mandelson IMO.

Original poster
lissielou · 12/05/2007 08:06

but were they as bad as the scandals that we saw under the Tories?

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donnie · 12/05/2007 08:07

well no - Archer, Aitken, Hamilton....no comparison at all really!

morningpaper · 12/05/2007 08:11

If not for Iraq I think that the US would hate us, it would have gone tits up on Iraq anyway and we would hate him because he didn't intervene, or stop it, or do more, and Blair would just bit in the shit on other fronts

No one is going to love a PM for 10 years

(except for me of course)

Original poster
lissielou · 12/05/2007 08:12

exactly donnie, and ithink a lot of people have this longing for "the good old days" and have forgotten just how miserable they were!

OP posts:
Original poster
lissielou · 12/05/2007 08:12

exactly donnie, and ithink a lot of people have this longing for "the good old days" and have forgotten just how miserable they were!

OP posts:
Original poster
lissielou · 12/05/2007 08:13

lol mp.

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paulaplumpbottom · 12/05/2007 15:30

Thats true Morningpaper he would have been in the Dog house no matter what he had done

moondog · 12/05/2007 15:33

I think Tony Blair is essentially a Good Man and always have done.
it makes my day to read The Telegraph daily (as have done over last 20 years) and read the envious drivel written about him by public shool twats who are still stunned that one of their lot isn't in charge.

Original poster
lissielou · 12/05/2007 15:40

pmsl moondog, couldnt agree more!

OP posts:
questionname · 12/05/2007 17:52

In what way has he made this country a better place to live? Just curious
(what are surestart vouchers?)Didn't he encourage/orchestrate the sleeze?
Tax credits have been getting a bit of a slating in the news recently I thought GB was claiming the credit for those will be interested to see who it ends up with

MissM · 12/05/2007 19:15

Although I personally feel he let us down badly over Iraq, he has achieved great things in relation to children that don't get shouted about. The Sure Start programme, Children's Centres, increased maternity leave... There's a lot of good stuff out there that no-one, not even the government, mentions. I know I'd rather be bringing up my DD under this government for all its faults than Thatcher's, as my mum did.

wychbold · 12/05/2007 19:57

Yes I?m really going to miss Bliar. Not.
I?ll have to think awhile to list all his faults, but off the top of my head I can think of:

the rich have got richer
the poor have got poorer
they have exported proper jobs to Asia: we are just a Tax Haven now
made housing unaffordable
made the next generation think that starting your working life with huge University debts is normal and even desirable
wasted loads of money in Public Services which are now less efficient
robbed you of your pension
mortgaged the country?s future with PFI projects

WendyWeber · 12/05/2007 20:01

wychbold, do tell exactly how Tony BLair is responsible for each of those?

questionname · 12/05/2007 22:02

ww that's not a serious question surely? he was supposedly running the county and making the decisions. remember he did what he thought was best

wychbold · 13/05/2007 09:32

Thank you questionname. I saw WW's post last night but I was so gobsmacked by it that I couldn't bring myself to answer it !!!

WW: as an example, one of the first things that Bliar / Brown did on coming to power was to change the tax rules so that, overnight, pension funds lost 10% of their income. Accountants tried to tell people at the time of the disasterous consequences of this but they were so busy being dazzled by Tony's pretty smile that they didn't take any notice. It took several years before before people realised - when it actually hit their pocket.

Just wait until Bliar / Brown are out of power and can no longer do their smoke & mirror tricks and then you might realise what they have done to your children's economy.