Why is Tony Blair so unpopular?

Why is Tony Blair so unpopular?

Author
Discussion

YankeePorker

Original Poster:

4,763 posts

240 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-33849764

The article talks about his political influence pushing labour to the right alienating the lefties, public disapproval of his active support of Bush and the subsequent screwing up of Iraq, his post PM lifestyle of private jets and lots of wonga, but seems to overlook the biggest issue - he's a lying and will forever be remembered as one!

TheExcession

11,669 posts

249 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
The bit that really nailed it for me was when when he said 'God told me to do it...."

Beati Dogu

8,862 posts

138 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
Labour's 1997 manifesto cover:



LOL


IroningMan

10,154 posts

245 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
Because the lefty media in general and the BBC in particular bought everything he said hook, line and sinker from 1994 until around 2003 - and since then have been feeling ever-so-slightly like they were taken for fools.

See also under Bill Clinton and other fallen darlings of the near-left.

s3fella

10,524 posts

186 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
Because .

glazbagun

14,259 posts

196 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
Righties hate him because Labour, high state spending, and reminders of the oblivion he consigned the Tories to, Lefties hate him because he was a pragmatist, not an idealist. And the Iraq War.

I think a lot of it is that many people voted for him and would rather feel betrayed than accept the responsibility of saying they felt he was the best man for the job at the time. Making him out to be some master illusionist is a way of absolving responsibility- he won three majorities for Labour.

YankeePorker

Original Poster:

4,763 posts

240 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
ash73 said:
I'd love to know what was going through his head when he took us into Iraq. His biggest failing is he still believes he was right.
That still rankles for me. At the time I lived in France, so was surrounded with friends and colleagues suffering the whole "cheese eating surrender monkeys" treatment in the English speaking press. The diplomatic tensions during the build up to the invasion of Iraq were the subject of many wine soaked soirees of discussion, with me generally defending the British stance.

Naively, in retrospect, I was convinced that an intelligent (for he is at least that!) man like Blair could not take such a weighty decision lightly, and had to be sitting on some prime intelligence info that justified committing British forces to the action. A bit of a deception then when it all turned out to be hot air, bull st and lies! What a lying .

sooperscoop

408 posts

162 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
YankeePorker said:
Naively, in retrospect, I was convinced that an intelligent (for he is at least that!) man like Blair could not take such a weighty decision lightly, and had to be sitting on some prime intelligence info that justified committing British forces to the action. A bit of a deception then when it all turned out to be hot air, bull st and lies! What a lying .
Y'know how PH wks itself senseless over anything military (see any thread about Vulcan, snipers or SAS for reference)? Politicians are the same, with the added ego boost of making life and death decisions which they think gives them gravitas and a place in history. I imagine that Blair was literally seeing himself as 'the father of the new Iraq', with freedom and puppies for all.

Skywalker

3,269 posts

213 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
But now he is richer than God; has highly complex tax affairs / arrangements and also gave us Gordon Brown - both as the End of Boom & Bust Chancellor, and then annointing him as Prime Mentalist.

robemcdonald

8,716 posts

195 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
A fair summary

CorbynFTW

12,230 posts

193 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Paraphrased for you.

Axionknight

8,505 posts

134 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Yeah, that just about sums it up for me.

He's a right smug , too.

grumbledoak

31,500 posts

232 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
Leaving an entire country in a far worse state than he found it for his own personal financial gain.

He probably wanted a mention in the history books, too. May I suggest "Venal, lying, wker"?

basherX

2,464 posts

160 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
glazbagun said:
Righties hate him because Labour, high state spending, and reminders of the oblivion he consigned the Tories to, Lefties hate him because he was a pragmatist, not an idealist. And the Iraq War.

I think a lot of it is that many people voted for him and would rather feel betrayed than accept the responsibility of saying they felt he was the best man for the job at the time. Making him out to be some master illusionist is a way of absolving responsibility- he won three majorities for Labour.
A fair summary

Type R Tom

3,859 posts

148 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
glazbagun said:
I think a lot of it is that many people voted for him and would rather feel betrayed than accept the responsibility of saying they felt he was the best man for the job at the time.
+1

Walford

2,259 posts

165 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
He ripped off a nation

Digga

40,207 posts

282 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
One word: smugness.

It summed up him, it summed up most of New Labour (knows best, bigotgate etc. etc.).


iphonedyou

9,234 posts

156 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
sooperscoop said:
Y'know how PH wks itself senseless over anything military (see any thread about Vulcan, snipers or SAS for reference)? Politicians are the same, with the added ego boost of making life and death decisions which they think gives them gravitas and a place in history.
I don't believe this to be generally true, at all.

Randy Winkman

16,021 posts

188 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
Because he made the mistake of going along with the US/Bush.

MarshPhantom

9,658 posts

136 months

Thursday 13th August 2015
quotequote all
Type R Tom said:
glazbagun said:
I think a lot of it is that many people voted for him and would rather feel betrayed than accept the responsibility of saying they felt he was the best man for the job at the time.
+1
But I voted New Labour in 1997 because I was absolutely fking sick of the Tories, not because I was taken in by Blair. Worth remembering that you vote for the Party, not the leader. I went off him as soon as I realised he was a man of god, which was very early on.