Tony Blair. War criminal or Labour’s saviour?
Blair. Love him or hate him, you cannot deny the formidable force he has had on British politics. This formidable force Blair has brought, this force is still here.
Growing up in the middle-class utopia of Sherwood, rammed full of the Marxist manifesto, muesli and John Lewis catalogues, I was brought up with the idea that Blair did nothing but harm to Labour party. Evidently through the PFI, acedemisation of schools and Iraq, Blair brought a bad name to the Labour party and therefore, in the eyes of the Sherwood comrades, should be disregarded as a Labour politician. This idea I brought with me to school where I ruthlessly criticised and condemned the work of Blair, some would say to the level I would criticise the work of Cameron a conservative politician.
But then something changed. I began to broaden my horizons and reach out to people.
According to the Trotsky wannabees of Sherwood, Tony Blair neglected teachers yet when I spoke to teachers at schools there was nothing but praise for the work Blair committed to education. Apparently nurses also suffered significantly under Blair’s premiership but when talking to nurses, there was a sense of reminiscence to Blair’s focus on health. Single mums that according to many critics of Blair, had been victims to the New Labour agenda, came out in praise of New Labours work with Sure Start and Tax credits. Maybe, just maybe, Blair might have been a good Labour Prime minister and not the vile villain that he is portrayed by in Left wing communities.
So, here we go, a brief profile of Blair, the profile that is neglected within the Labour party. Coming to power with an incredible election victory in 1997, Blair promised a progressive, Liberal, tolerant Britain that we could be proud of. Whilst the social democrat platform that Blair campaigned on was noticeably different to previous democratic socialist manifestos, the core values of tolerance, wealth distribution and equality remained. What won it for Labour was the transformation from 20th century politics to ideas set for the dawn of a century. Blair had evolved the Labour party from a party stuck in the socialist values of the past, to the party built for generation to come. He broadened the appeal for Labour, making it not a rebellious vote but a consensus decision that the country can unite on. And he won. He gained seats in Tory strongholds whilst continuing to consolidate Labour seats. Why? Because the country loved this Labour party. They loved looking to a young, charismatic leader and feeling part of something beautiful on the dawn of the 21st century. And to put it simply, that’s when Labour really thrives. When we have a leader that represents the progressive platform that people are eager to sign up. Blair knew what the country was crying for and through the support of Labour colleagues he could deliver with a manifesto uniting the country, leader that we all loved and a party that represented Britain. He got it spot on in 1997.
Evidently through his successive election victories, Blair delivered to Britain. He radically transformed both the education and health system through investment and management. He brought Britain into the 21st century and modernized our nation. I was first hand witness to it. My school was looked after and had enough support to look after students. The NHS countless times was there for me when I was in A and E, WITHOUT the incredibly long and miserable waiting times and Britain became more and more tolerant.
But, something had to go wrong. Blair had to fuck up. 2003 and the Iraq war jeopardised Labours perception in the country. Whilst we still won another election in 2005, never again would New Labour return to the glory of 1997. Thanks Blair, thanks for shattering a dream we really wanted to hold onto.
Skip a decade on and Blair is nothing but a criminal in the Labour party. Whilst I cannot deny the monumental fuck up of Iraq in 2003, Blair did transform Britain for the better. It is New Labour we can thank for sure start centres, the minimum wage and steps towards LGBTQ+ rights. So, maybe try and be a bit more grateful? The reception of Blair within the Labour party is vile. They brand him as a war criminal, red tory and fake Labour. The attitude is not what the Labour party represents. We are the party that are tolerant and respect opinions yet to Blair we villainise the man. Really? Are we that immature?
He is history now, He is what we must learn from. Whilst he went wrong with Iraq he was right with his victory of 1997 and transformation of Britain. Let’s look back both in praise and critisism. Let’s adopt his strategy to 1997 and his progressive transformation in Britain. If we continue to villainise Blair we will never learn what we must do to move forward. Let’s take the lessons of liberals and learn to have some critical thinking, both weighing up the limits and benefits to Blair’s premiership rather than follow the forced upon view by corbans team that Blair tarnished the Labour party.
If we ever want to be in power again, which I know for a fact that is what Britain needs, then we need to fully understand how to win an election. That comes from learning from our past and taking lessons from what went well and what fucked us up. What Blair arguably did best was transforming the Labour party to the political climate he was surrounded by. The dawn of the 21st century was a time of progressive liberal values which Blair reflected through his manifesto rather than continuing to pursue outdated politics. The Labour party of 1997 also ensured through all women shortlists and positive discrimintation that we could represent the Britain that we stood for, a Britain of equality and tolerance.
I don’t love Blair by any shot of a mile but I do recognise that his 3 successive election victories weren’t for no reason. It was because he got SOME policies right and transformed Britain. Labour must recognise that and instead of condemning his every action and his role as leader, approach his leadership with a critical eye, both acknowledging his highs and lows. If we can do that we can learn from our history and learn what we can do to win the next general election (whenever that will be)
