Yesterday, I listened to PMQ’s (Prime Minister’s Questions ), the last time that Tony Blair will take to the dispatch box, in fact probably the last time he will speak in the House of Commons. And I had a tear in my eye!
Now, before you accuse me of being a Blairite, I have to confess that I have never voted for him (despite voting for pretty much all the main parties in the different elections), although I was one of the many people who did think it was time for a change in 1997 and wanted Blair as PM.
Most of the half an hour in Parliament on Wednesday was pretty tame, until Ian Paisley stood up and mentioned Blair’s intervention in Northern Ireland, bringing two mortal enemies together to share power and bring peace. I could imagine Paisley in his pulpit rather than supposedly asking the Prime Minister a question! The Speaker seemed to sense the poignancy of the moment, and allowed Paisley some latitude in taking longer than would normally be allowed. As Paisley poured forth his praise it seemed to be moving inexorably towards a massive “BUT…”. In never came. Paisley sat down, fulsome in his praise for Blair’s contribution. It was truly moving.
When we look at Blair, I don’t think he will rank alongside Churchill or Thatcher as PM’s that truly did preside over a huge change in the cultural landscape. Iraq will also be a blot on the landscape (although for what it is worth I do believe Blair that he thought he was doing the right thing at the time, but it has been a monumental cock up in hindsight!). The economy has been pretty strong, but a the tax burden has increased for all (but mostly through stealth taxes); Education and the NHS has huge money poured in, but hasn’t brought about the desired results.
In my opinion, the “King of Spin” has been sunk by spin. So effectively did the PR machine work, that is whipped up such an expectation of success and change that it was doomed to failure from the beginning. The verse from Proverbs comes to mind: “A hope deferred makes the heart sick“. The hype and spin created such hope in the nation that now people feel let down, when in reality things have improved and lots of good has been achieved.
For all the disappointment about the dashed hopes of the last 10 years of labour power, and the sense of outrage at the war in Iraq, what Blair achieved in Northern Ireland is truly historic. It will bring Blair the desired legacy, but more importantly it will bring the people of NI the peace they have longed for.
Tags: Tony Blair, Blair, Prime Minister, Ian Paisley, Paisley, Northern Ireland, Peace
Postscript: There are a couple of very interesting and insightful articles written by Jim Wallis on Blair and Brown - I particularly recommend the Brown one. Malcom Duncan also has written a post calling on Brown to continue the good work from the last decade, and find a place for faith groups to “engage with the poor and exluded in our communities“.
Good old blair - he did ok - which is pretty good for any PM… so says this PM
You would HAVE to stop being so honest…
One of the things that I don’t think we can doubt about Blair is that he did what he thought was right.
On NI, he most definitely got it right, and we are actually seeing the fulfilment of that right now.
On Iraq, in hindsight he got it wrong - trusting Bush too much for a start. But he believed he was going the right thing and had enough information at the time to make an informed choice. Ultimately, this has been proved wrong but, if you look back, there was a significant majority in favour of invasion.
He also did change the political landscape in Britain, effectively blurring the lines between the old right, left and centre positions.
Brown? Personally, I can’t work out his agenda yet. He seems to be saying all the right things - inclusion, making change, making people’s lives better - but it remains to be seen whether his actions match his words. If his changes to income tax for next year are anything to by - penalising the very lowest paid and ensuring charity income drops - then he’ll need to do something radical to make me believe differently.
The ostensible alternative - Cameron - is a slimey, untrustworthy, sly, king of spin himself. I suppose we shouldn’t get too worried - we’ll be independent within 5 years anyway.
Thanks Matthew … I pretty much agree with you. I don’t doubt TB’s sincerity, even with Iraq. I think if he had said he got it wrong, then there would have a been a much more positive reaction to him, as he left.
On Cameron, i can’t quite work him out, but i don’t see him as negatively as you do…
I think he is slick, but like Blair, i do actually believe his sincerity. What i didn’t like about Blair was the way he stage managed everything … and i don’t think DC does that …
Ah, that’ll be your Tory instincts coming through
I do however doubt DC’s sincerity and would suggest that the way he is presented things is in great homage to the worst excesses of spin during the Blair years. There is tremendous irony in the Tories electing a Blair-like leader just as the country was getting fed up of the original.
Here’s a thought - how much were the seeds of what are being claimed as Blair’s major successes (the economy and Northern Ireland) actually sown during the universally derided Major years. Despite the unpopularity - the country was actually heading in a pretty healthy direction in 1997. I wonder if in 50 years historians will look back and scratch their heads about why Major was so unpopular. At least nobody could say he was a spin king.
Agree with Matthew - not sure I trust DC, can’t quite pin down if he stands for anything yet. I think GB’s intentions are probably right, but, to be honest, his front bench doesn’t fill me with confidence. Does David Milliband really have what it takes to represent UK on the world stage?
You are undoubtedly right about the economy in 1997 Tony, but its Ken Clarke who should get all the credit. Major, quite frankly, didn’t know his a**e from his elbow.
However, Brown’s major policy change on taking office 10 years ago was to give the BoE independence on interest rates, something that brought great stability.
Thanks guys … I think Major sowed the seeds of peace in NI, but Blair has held his nerve and forced the different sides to come to the table and talk. I think that is a majour achievement.
Apart from the stroke of genius that matthew mentions, I think Brown has riden the wave of a pretty strong economy that he inherited and pretty good world economy. He could have screwed it up, but he didn’t…
The sounds coming out of No 10 are very different these last few days, but I am sceptical that things are that different. After all Brown was there at the heart of the Blair years…
I agree that Ken Clarke was probably the best chancellor we’ve had in my life time (and is still one of the few tory (or any other party for that matter) politicians who act. But if Blair is allowed to take the credit for Brown’s handling of the economy just because he was PM at the time, why not Major? Don’t get me wrong - I’m no big fan of the guy - I just think the contrast with Blair is interesting: Blair is perceived as being all image, but achieved some things of substance. Major had a huge image problem, but also (I think) achieved something of substance - and I completely disagree with Mr Reilly’s assessment - I think he was actually quite a skilled politician (see the way he resigned as party to leader to precipitate Redwood’s challenge) who was crippled by the way he was portrayed in the press and by a party who no leader since has managed to prevent tearing each other to pieces (The jury’s still out on Cameron).
As to Brown and the economy - he is a success at the moment, but I fear we are really going to suffer later for his raid on pensions and then he might not look quite so inspired.
Thanks Tony … don’t the Major years seem such a long time ago.
I think one of the problems with the Tories then was they just seemed so out of touch with the mood of the country, but I don’t think Major was a disaster either. I think a lot of the problem was the rest of the party …
I agree about Brown and the economy too… I just seems slightly mad and rather iniquitous that he raids pension funds and then we find that people are not putting enough money aside for their retirement and we are heading towards a pension crisis. All rather hidden, so that Labour weren’t seen as a tax and spend party…
But it did raise a lot of money for him, so unlikely to see it reversed I would think…