Tony Blair

Jordan Carter blogs his approval of Tony Blair's last party conference speech and Blair's contribution to the . It is certainly a great speech.

I regard Tony Blair as a centrist right winger at heart who was in Labour because the Torys were so unappealing to “middle” Britain. It was when I was over there for six weeks last year I realised that his instincts are of the right.

I used to think Blair was like Clark. Clark sometimes goes centrist on some issues. But Clark does it purely to gain votes, or deflate a issue. Clark instinctively is very much on the left wing of Labour – she is just willing to compromise as much as is necessary to stay in power (I say that with a mixture of appreciation and condemnation).

Blair though is a genuine believer in and health reforms which provide choice and competition. His language is often language of the right. He definitely is a believer in third world poverty relief etc, but that is not universal to the left.

It is a pity that Blair's record will be judged mainly on his decision to support action against Saddam Hussein. He does deserve more consideration than that.

Comments (18)

Login to comment or vote

Add a Comment