Tony Blair

Discussion in 'Bulletin Board' started by Vesp77, Sep 4, 2019.

  1. Marlon

    Marlon Well-Known Member

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    I think they had alot of anti Islamic laws at the time though .
    That’s why Britain mainly avoided attacks at the time as our attitude was very lax including letting preaches preach in mosques about Jihad .
     
  2. pon

    pontyender Well-Known Member

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    Tony Blair's by far the best Prime Minister I've known in my 53 years.
     
  3. Jay

    Jay Well-Known Member

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    I disagree with this, even with the benefit of hindsight Tony Blair believes the right decision was made with regards to the Iraq war and is on record justifying his decision many, many times.
    Many people did not need the benefit of hindsight to know it was wrong at the time. Millions of people.
    I believe the Labour government elected in 97 did some amazing things for the people and institutions of this country. But I can't pretend the Iraq war isn't a huge stain on that.
    And no, of course I didn't like Saddam Hussein. But to suggest what we did was the only solution to the problem is simply incorrect.
     
  4. Marlon

    Marlon Well-Known Member

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    He did a lot right and a lot wrong .
    Whatever he did his legacy will always be the Iraq war which wasn’t just a bad idea with hindsight but even at the time his ministers and party were begging him not to .
    My opinion is that he didn’t do enough for places like Sheffield,Barnsley,Rotherham etc etc .
    He fed the workforce benefits either in work benefits and low paid fly by night jobs or out of work benefits .
    This should have been short term and he should have encouraged investment and meaningful jobs into the area .
    The benefits were always gonna take a hit at the first Tory Govt or coalition as it turned out (even the Lib dems hated us ) and so it proved to be .
    He had a chance to help ex heavy industry areas and he failed most of them imo.
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2019
  5. DEETEE

    DEETEE Well-Known Member

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    Not a lot has changed except the toilet habits.
     
  6. Dar

    Darfield138 Well-Known Member

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    Seem to remember he promised a referendum on ratifying the Lisbon treaty prior to the 2005 election then just completely ignored it. There is an argument to be made that he laid the groundwork for Brexit unwittingly with this and his pushing for eastern European countries to join to break the Franco German axis
     
  7. AthersleyRed

    AthersleyRed Well-Known Member

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    Blair and Bush are the reason we have terrorism
     
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  8. Sco

    Scoff Well-Known Member

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    All terrorism? or just the recent terrorism?

    After all, the UK has been experiencing terrorist attacks on a regular basis since 1972.
     
  9. AthersleyRed

    AthersleyRed Well-Known Member

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    Blair and Bush are the reason we have terrorism
    My apologies, "The War On Terror".
     
  10. dek

    dekparker Well-Known Member

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    after maastrict blair called on the government to give us a vote and then went onto promise us one, once in power he literally refused to speak about it,

    you are right about 2005, both the main opposition parties called for a referendum because yet another treaty was in the forefront of eu policies, both these parties said it was not what the public voted for in 1975, Blair then, as you rightly say, promised to let the people have their say, yet after the following general election,which the labour party won this promise was once again ignored

    the whole EU project has been lambasted by opposition parties but once in power it is somehow ok... these people then wonder why huge swaithes of the public dont trust them
     
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  11. Stephen Dawson

    Stephen Dawson Well-Known Member

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    New Labour wasn't it? Should have read slightly less Conservative. What happened to helping out industry and re-nationalisation of certain sectors?
     
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  12. TitusMagee

    TitusMagee Well-Known Member

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    Do you think the current state of play- forget Brexit- is better than what we had under Labour?

    Public services flogged within an inch of their lives, food banks, zero hours contracts etc etc?

    Honest answer.
     
  13. Stephen Dawson

    Stephen Dawson Well-Known Member

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    Taking Brexit off the table completely. No. However, since I started working the amount I have to earn before I'm taxed has gone up. So from a totally selfish point of view I'm financially better off.
     
  14. TitusMagee

    TitusMagee Well-Known Member

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    I rest my case.
     
  15. Sco

    Scoff Well-Known Member

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    How much has it gone up? - compared to inflation over the same period. Also how much has extra tax on other things gone up in the same period?

    If you pay £100 in direct tax and £100 in indirect tax, are you better off if you pay £0 in direct tax and £200 in indirect tax? (exaggerated example, but you get the idea).
     
  16. Jimmy viz

    Jimmy viz Well-Known Member

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    No offence not everyone is obsessed with the EU. Blair for all his many faults made the country a better place for the poorest amongst us. He picked up a country divided and ravaged by Thatcherism and have it hope. Things like Sure Start Centres and NMW changed people lives. His error was not being bold enough and of course Iraq. The EU was then as it is now a sideshow.
     
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  17. Jor

    Jordym93 Well-Known Member

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    If it wasn’t for his illegal wars he would of been great. He’s not the only one though. We’ve been doing it for years
     
  18. Farnham_Red

    Farnham_Red Administrator Staff Member Admin

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    Bit late to come back to you on this. And I would be the last person to suggest that Blair was always right. And clearly the war is a stain on his time as PM. He is on record defending his decision - thats normal for most politicians and I am sure at the time he believed he was doing the right thing. I just think - possibly wrongly - that knowing what he knows now if he could wind back time and with the benefit of hindsight he would still have made the same decision - I certainly wouldnt if I was him but as its all hypothetical we will never know.

    I am certain though that had the tories been in power we would gone to war just the same with Ian Duncan Smith as PM and bearig the stain on his character - though it wouldnt show up much amongst all the other stains, and in fact Cameron ( PM at the time Chilcott was published ) fully supported the party's decision to vote for it after the Chilcott report was published,

    none of which changes the fact that given a choice between Blair as PM or the current **** show between Boris and Corbyn Id have Blair back in a heartbeat
     
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  19. Farnham_Red

    Farnham_Red Administrator Staff Member Admin

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    Wow thats simplistic. you have to take into account all the other things that you pay for in other ways - you might be better off but on average unless you are very rich the chances are in real terms you arent. How about duty rates, or the fact that the money given to councils has been cut so councils up the rates bill by the maximum they can each year, and then can no longer fund other things - I have to pay for my green waste collection, and I even have to pay to take some waste to the tip these days - National insurance has gone up.
    Are you really sure you are better off based on such a simple measuremet
     
  20. dek

    dekparker Well-Known Member

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    no offence taken and i agree not everyone is obsessed with the eu , however blair knew the promise of a referendum, so soon after maastricht would be a vote winner,thats when he stood on the platform and boldly announced we'd get one pointing out the tories promised one and then failed to deliver.

    i agree the labour party under blair did change some things for the better,

    the country was indeed divided after thatcher but no more than it is now over brexit , this division wasnt easy to see prior to the referendum but a 52/48 split imo shows a huge division,
     
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