Why is Tony Blair so unpopular?

[Tango13]

Many years ago, before I was even born my late Grandfather took one look at Richard Nixon and commented that he was not a man to be trusted, he (Nixon) 'smiled too quickly and too easily'

The first time I saw Blair on TV those words immediately sprang to mind.

[BJG1]

I think Blair and New Labour did a lot of good which often gets overlooked because of their obvious failings. I don't think he was great on balance, but he deserves credit for the excellent work he did in Northern Ireland, introducing the minimum wage, devolution of power to Scotland and Wales, getting rid of most hereditary peers in the HoL and huge cuts in hospital wait times.

Here's a really good, balanced article: http://www.economist.com/node/16004271

[YankeePorker]

BJG1 said:

I think Blair and New Labour did a lot of good which often gets overlooked because of their obvious failings. I don't think he was great on balance, but he deserves credit for the excellent work he did in Northern Ireland, introducing the minimum wage, devolution of power to Scotland and Wales, getting rid of most hereditary peers in the HoL and huge cuts in hospital wait times.

Here's a really good, balanced article: http://www.economist.com/node/16004271

Yeah, The Economist was right behind him for the Iraq war too. And replacing the hereditary peers in the HoL with cronies was not exactly a major advance in my opinion.

[Martin4x4]

Simple.

He is hated by the left because he turned out to be a tory with a red tie.
He is hated by the right because he managed to out tory the conservatives.

[dudleybloke]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKSllUPbzCI

[Don]

Martin4x4 said:

Simple.

He is hated by the left because he turned out to be a tory with a red tie.
He is hated by the right because he managed to out tory the conservatives.

This.

He's hated because he managed to elected over and over again whilst the middle-class luvvies thought the sun shone out of his arse. Even after getting us into a war we will be paying the price of for generations to come he got re-elected. fking amazing. Gordo took over...and bang, they're out of office.

But he knew how to get elected was to claim the centre ground. Well Call Me Dave has firmly got a hold of that. Given Corbyn takes Labour visibly Left they will remain utterly unelectable. For this, frankly, I am grateful because the Teflon Tony years left us with a National Debt we'll be paying off for the next quarter-century at least. To you and me that's taxes we have to pay to get absolutely nothing for. All for a few to have it easier for a decade that's probably best forgotten.

It isn't just Blair. It's his whole administration.

[MG CHRIS]

YankeePorker said:

BJG1 said:

I think Blair and New Labour did a lot of good which often gets overlooked because of their obvious failings. I don't think he was great on balance, but he deserves credit for the excellent work he did in Northern Ireland, introducing the minimum wage, devolution of power to Scotland and Wales, getting rid of most hereditary peers in the HoL and huge cuts in hospital wait times.

Here's a really good, balanced article: http://www.economist.com/node/16004271

Yeah, The Economist was right behind him for the Iraq war too. And replacing the hereditary peers in the HoL with cronies was not exactly a major advance in my opinion.

Yea they did one good thing with Scotland and that is they are almost unelectable in Scotland and even wales is turning away from labour apart from the south wales valleys which even a monkey with a red tie on would get in, the only thing that pains me to be and live in the area.

[Mr GrimNasty]

Because he only ever did anything in pursuance of his own personal finances and ego - and because a lot of people feel stupid for being taken in by him.

[Walford]

BJG1 said:

I think Blair and New Labour did a lot of good for himself
FTFY

[BJG1]

Walford said:

BJG1 said:

I think Blair and New Labour did a lot of good for himself
FTFY

Why don't you suggest how the things I listed were good for him, rather than the country, instead of posting immature nonsense?

[barryrs]

BJG1 said:

I think Blair and New Labour did a lot of good which often gets overlooked because of their obvious failings. I don't think he was great on balance, but he deserves credit for the excellent work he did in Northern Ireland, introducing the minimum wage, devolution of power to Scotland and Wales, getting rid of most hereditary peers in the HoL and huge cuts in hospital wait times.

Here's a really good, balanced article: http://www.economist.com/node/16004271

Few points.

Mo Mowlem did all the hard work in Ireland and tony swept in for the photo calls.

National wage minimum wage set at a rate designed to keep wages low and keep workers reliant on state handouts in the form of tax credits.

Devolution designed to maintain labour strong holds in traditionally non conservative areas. Which has bitten them firmly on the arse.

Can't really comment on the HOL.

Mass manipulation of NHS waiting lists in order to give the appearance of improvement. In my own case I was asked for holiday dates so the hospital gave me a date while I was away. I refused the date, target met by offering a date within 6 months, actual wait 18 months.

I accept all governments are self serving however tony took it to a whole new level in my view.

[Morningside]

barryrs said:

BJG1 said:

I think Blair and New Labour did a lot of good which often gets overlooked because of their obvious failings. I don't think he was great on balance, but he deserves credit for the excellent work he did in Northern Ireland, introducing the minimum wage, devolution of power to Scotland and Wales, getting rid of most hereditary peers in the HoL and huge cuts in hospital wait times.

Here's a really good, balanced article: http://www.economist.com/node/16004271

Few points.

Mo Mowlem did all the hard work in Ireland and tony swept in for the photo calls.

Started off by John Major I think.

[AJS-]

For me he symbolises the whole post politics era we live in. Totally unencumbered with any principles and guided by no ideology other than an unwavering belief in his own self-aggrandisement.

People compare him to Thatcher who was also divisive, but you can look back and say that Thatcher did stuff that she believed in and people voted for it. She closed and privatised national industries because she believed in the market. She cut services because she believed in low taxes and she sold off council homes because she believed in private ownership.

What did Blair do? Mass immigration - I can only think because recent immigrants are more likely to vote Labour. Promoted welfare dependency and a bloated public sector, presumably for the same reasons. Invaded Iraq and hammed up his war leader act, ensuring a fortune for his retirement. Then as his swansong he passed the whole, sordid mess over to that dimwit Brown just before it went bang, and he went off to make a shed load of money off the back being a successful world leader; calling himself Middle East Peace Envoy, of all things.

It's almost beyond parody of a shameless fraud reaching the highest levels and milking it for all it's worth.

It's hard not to have some grudging admiration for his flagrant opportunism. He is a consumate politician. Unfortunately he is also an utter st of a man, and if I could go back to 1994 and carry it off successfully I would put a bullet through him.

[number 46]

To answer the question, because he is a . And we haven't even got to his wife yet!

[YankeePorker]

ash73 said:

10 seconds of stunned silence when confronted by a journalist about blood on his hands. His indecision reminds me of Bush when he was told about the planes going into the twin towers while he was reading a children's book. It's amazing to see those pictures of a million people marching in protest against the war in Iraq. What a terrible legacy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50ksL7fkBNM

While it in no way excuses the lying for taking us into the Iraq war on false premises, it is probably fair to say that at the time the West had not yet understood that the power vacuum left once a Middle East dictator is taken out just leads to tribalism, religious persecution and a bloody clusterfk. Blair probably believed that things would be better for the Iraqis and Kurds once Saddam was gone.

After seeing the aftermaths of Iraq, Libya and the Arab spring I think we've got that message now!

[AJS-]

YankeePorker said:

While it in no way excuses the lying for taking us into the Iraq war on false premises, it is probably fair to say that at the time the West had not yet understood that the power vacuum left once a Middle East dictator is taken out just leads to tribalism, religious persecution and a bloody clusterfk. Blair probably believed that things would be better for the Iraqis and Kurds once Saddam was gone.

After seeing the aftermaths of Iraq, Libya and the Arab spring I think we've got that message now!

The thing is they did understand this the first time around, and it was one of the reasons they didn't get rid of him after Desert Storm.

[MC Bodge]

The

YankeePorker said:

While it in no way excuses the lying for taking us into the Iraq war on false premises, it is probably fair to say that at the time the West had not yet understood that the power vacuum left once a Middle East dictator is taken out just leads to tribalism, religious persecution and a bloody clusterfk. Blair probably believed that things would be better for the Iraqis and Kurds once Saddam was gone.

After seeing the aftermaths of Iraq, Libya and the Arab spring I think we've got that message now!

No, it was well known. It isn't a new phenomenon.

Remember, many of the countries in the region were formed fairly arbitrarily by the French and British. They have never been cohesive entities.

Delusions of grandeur must have had an impact on Tony Blair. It must be quite good for the egotistical to feel that they have so much influence, even if your "faith" is required to conveniently align with a bunch of self-serving and bullying thugs such as the influential people in the Bush administration -Bush himself being a bullied fool who has rightly now disappeared from public life.

[YankeePorker]

AJS- said:

The thing is they did understand this the first time around, and it was one of the reasons they didn't get rid of him after Desert Storm.

Maybe. I understood that the halting of Desert Storm was more to do with the original coalition mandate, to kick the Iraqi occupiers out of Kuweit rather than regime change. With that comprehensively achieved there was limited political support to go further.

As for why Bush wanted to go back and hit Iraq again, who knows? Maybe Bush senior expressed regret that he hadn't been allowed to finish the job and Bush junior said "I'll do for you Pa". But he did have advisers telling him that it wasn't a great idea - Colin Powell was quoted as having said "If you go in and break it then it's your mess to deal with afterwards". Wise words from a sensible man who then completely (under orders) discredited himself by misrepresenting the WOMD stuff to the UN/NATO.

Still don't know what Blair did it for, maybe just megalomania as others have suggested. tt.

[fatboy b]

There"s one answer to the thread title. He's Labour. Luckily it looks like Labour are maing themselves unelectable for a good few years. Let's hope the Tories have a few terms in office to completely sort out Labour's mess.

Edited by fatboy b on Sunday 16th August 21:14

[MC Bodge]

is is this the most consensual thread ever?