Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Was the Blair Departure Memo Leaked on Purpose?

If you were Tony Blair and you wanted to quieten down a frenzied Labour Party without saying anything directly about your future yourself, what would you do? Answer: the usual Number Ten trick - leak an email. The Mirror's story today carries all the hallmarks of being deliberately leaked by Number Ten on the basis that most reasonable thinking people would consider it right and proper for the PM to quit on his tenth anniversary. We'll see if the strategy works. I have my doubts and believe it could backfire spectatularly and stoke up the fire even more. (Imagine I am figuratively rubbing my hands with glee as I type this - a feat in itself). For those of you who can't bring yourselves to part with 40p (or whatever it costs) to buy today's Mirror, I have pleasure in reprinting Kevin Maguire's (pictured) article now...

A SENSATIONAL memo leaked to the Mirror reveals how Labour experts are planning Tony Blair's exit from No10.The retirement blueprint aims to promote the "triumph of Blairism" and allow the PM to quit on a wave of euphoria after 10 years in office.The secret strategy – drawn up by a small group of loyalists – is well under way. Mr Blair's "farewell tour" includes plans to appear on Blue Peter, Songs of Praise and Chris Evans' radio show.

TONY Blair hopes to quit Number 10 with all guns blazing, leaving the public drooling over what he has achieved as a Prime Minister that changed the face of politics in his 10-year reign.The secret blueprint that sensationally outlines his exit plan reveals proposals for a whirlwind of TV and radio appearances, city visits and photo opportunities with families and workers while travelling the land on different forms of transport.His most trusted aides are determined Mr Blair should go out on a wave of euphoria and renewed popularity after his recent batterings over issues such as Iraq and ID cards.And the five-page memo, drawn up by a close-knit group around the leader including party guru Philip Gould, suggests the PM is nearer to stepping down than he publicly admits.It warns: "Time is not an unlimited commodity." And seemingly more concerned with his image than policy, the paper – seen by the Mirror – boasts: "His genuine legacy is not the delivery, important though that is, but the dominance of new Labour ideas…the triumph of Blairism."As TB enters his final phase he needs to be focusing way beyond the finishing line, not looking at it."He needs to go with the crowds wanting more. He should be the star who won't even play that last encore.

In moving towards the end he must focus on the future."The plan to promote Mr Blair as a PM the public will be sad to see the back of is bound to anger Gordon Brown, favourite to succeed him, and the document accepts the pair's strained relationship could deteriorate further.The possible reactions of the Chancellor, who fears the longer Mr Blair stays the stronger the Tories will become, are prepared for under a section labelled "threats and opportunities".It warns: "There are specific issues which can provide opportunities and threats. They are: GB's reaction…the more successful we are the more it will agitate and possibly destabilise him, we need to consider how to deal."It is said Mr Blair will appear on Blue Peter and negotiations are believed to under way for him to go on Songs of Praise. The memo also says invitations are being sought to appear on Chris Evans' Radio 2 slot plus half a dozen other popular programmes.

Other revelations include:- spending a day then an overnight stay in half a dozen cities across the country.- visiting the 20 most striking buildings opened or redeveloped since 1997.- increasing the number of high-profile tours of schools and hospitals.- avoiding discussing Blair's job offers – fuelling rumours he's already received approaches.The memo also suggests the PM travels to Wales and Scotland to argue devolution is a success ahead of next spring's elections, gives set piece interviews once a month to foreign newspapers to boost his international standing and proposes "careful" handling how he also quits as MP for Sedgefield in County Durham.

The extraordinary memo will heighten speculation Mr Blair is already on his last lap and is privately preparing to depart some time around May next year when he celebrates 10 years in power.He last week failed to end speculation over his retirement date when he ruled out naming the day at Labour's annual conference in Manchester later this month.He pointedly accused Cabinet Ministers and Labour MPs, led by Mr Brown, of "obsessing" over the timing. Yet the No 10 memo reveals how the issue is dominating thinking deep inside the Downing Street bunker.Iraq also continues to cast a long shadow over the Premier's record, the document openly acknowledges. It says: "We need to incorporate this into our media plan. It's the elephant in the room, let's face up to it. Most importantly, are we up for it? Is TB up for it?"Mr Blair's final weeks in office will be particularly carefully choreographed to ensure cheers rather than jeers.

Under the heading "Last month" the memo suggests: "Needs a daily grid, planned to thelast detail.As much as possible a farewell tour, looking to the future, making sure the party is in the right place and the public remember him as he should be."The strategy is already under way as the PM embarks on a reputation-enhancing series of lectures.Mr Blair wants to be seen on TV in more "real-life situations" with people instead of politicians and is to focus on areas such as technology, genetics and family relationships.

The memo says: "He needs to embrace open spaces, the arts and businesses, he needs to be seen to be travelling on different forms of transport."He needs to be seen with people who will raise eyebrows."He needs to travel around the UK to be carefully positioned as someone who while not above politics, is certainly distancing himself from the political village. He should be dropping references in all that he does which reflect his energy and enthusiasm."This needs to move on from 'I'm getting on with the job' to 'this is a great job, I'm very lucky, I won't have it one day and before that day comes I still have lots to do and say'."Among the Downing Street aides involved with the document are Ruth Turner, David Hill, Liz Lloyd, John McTernan and spin doctorDavid Hill.Parts that have been already been implemented include an outing on Radio 5's 606 football fanzine to talk about England's World Cup prospects with presenter Adrian Chiles.

The document, headed "Reconnecting with the public – a new relationship with the media", was prepared earlier this year.It is thought it was produced around the time of Labour's "Black Wednesday" when Mr Blair was rocked by a series of scandals and events that seriously weakened his position.The conflagration of Deputy PM John Prescott's affair, a row over the release of foreign prisoners and nurses booing Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt shook No 10's foundations.It shows Mr Blair and his aides want him to keep his hand on the tiller until the moment he leaves his job at No10.Sketching out the his exit it says: "One where we make it clear that the PM will be spending his final period in office preparing Britain for itsfuture challenges, setting out what they are and connecting with the public who gave him the chance to serve."

The document also calls on aides to make it clear how much they have enjoyed working with Mr Blair. It wants him to be seen in "iconic locations" and away from the "traditional backdrops of public buildings and lecterns".It says: "In seeking to achieve this the whole operation should reflect the change in the political atmosphere: TB focusing on his priorities; TB laying the foundations for the future based on his experience in office."This positive approach needs to be reflected not only by TB but by all those who work and support him.We should show how much we enjoy working for TB, what pride we take in our work and how we want his premiership to end on a high."Mr Blair intends to present himself as above the political fray, both within the Labour Party and against enemies.

The memo reads: "While we need to do what is required to defend the Government and ensure a clarity of message, we should definitely not be drawn into hand to hand combat.But if some of our own side are not prepared to accept this, and the Tories step up their attacks then we will have to revisit…but this whole approach has been adopted to avoid that, so we should work on the basis that we will have achieved this."As ever, this is not rocket science, we know what works well: strong, policy focused events which have substance, striking pictures, words from TB and real people involved."But it is essential that we do all we can in our message and planning to ensure that we do not get knocked off by events."Before the summer Mr Blair delivered a keynote speech on criminal justice followed by a second lecture on public health.Yesterday he delivered the third in the series on social exclusion as one of the "big challenges" facing Britain in the future.Labour MPs are increasingly predicting disastrous results in Welsh and Scottish Parliamentary elections next May. This has led growing numbers of backbenchers to call on the PM to make his departure date clear way before those elections.But the memo says: "Wales and Scotland – devolution despite the bumpy ride has been a success, TB should embrace this."His profile should be raised in the major urban areas in advance of the elections in May."

61 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kevin Mc Guire, the Today programme , and certain sections of the media are completely obsessed by this story.
They should be more concerned about the terrible situation our troops are in re Afghanistan and Iraq.
I sometimes wonder if the Media in London know what concerns people who live outside the ring of the M25.
For goodness sake you lot, stop navel gazing !

Anonymous said...

I love this bit:-

"His genuine legacy is not the delivery, important though that is, but the dominance of new Labour ideas…the triumph of Blairism."

It really show the Labour Party and No. 10 in its true light.

Anonymous said...

The thought of Blair walking amongst us, raising the dead (AKA the Labour Party), healing the wounded (ditto) and lifting the spirits (not you, Charles) doesn't bear serious contemplation, so of course, it must be true. Can we have a bit of a Nuremburg rally type event? That way, we get him conveniently close to the International War Crimes Tribunal.

Prodicus said...

Given the Brown view that the longer Blair stays, the better for the Tories, is it possible that Blair wants Labour to lose the next election? (Not joking.)

Obviously not spite but... hubris? 'The longest surviving/greatest Labour PM', talked about for a generation... history and all that.

Yes, I could rubbish this notion, too, but...

Anonymous said...

The "headline" strap on the BBC News website says David Milibland believes the Dear Leader will shuffle off his political coil within 12 months.

He's very perceptive this boy. I predict great things for him.

Anonymous said...

The most important issue facing this country is that Tony goes out in a blaze of glory...why can't we all see this? Forget the thousands dying in Iraq. Walter Mitty gone postal....

Anonymous said...

I see a comparison in attitudes with 1945, Berlin and a bunker. Hitler was issuing orders to non existent armies until the last minute as none of his sychophants dared tell him the truth.

Bob Piper said...

Maguire's picture looks about as up to date as the one I use on my election address to convince people they are voting for a fresh faced enthusistic politician, instead of the cynical grouch they are going to get.

Anonymous said...

The answer to the actual question you pose is "YES"

I am surprised however by Kevin McGuire "publishing" such "Boon and Mills" fiction

Anonymous said...

Can we have him on top of a bus on a parade from Marble Arch to Trafalgar Square. I'm sure the millions would turn out to celebrate him.

If the memo is serious, it shows how bad things are in the bunker. Reminds me of the film chronicling Hitler's last days, Downfall, when everything is going pear-shaped for the leader but few dare to speak the truth. Wasn't there a memo a few months ago saying people didn't vote for Labour in the council elections because but they "still loved Tony"?

Anonymous said...

"Blairism" = Narcissism

Unfortunately not treatable

Anonymous said...

It says it all you ever wanted to know about Blair & his sycophants, doesn't it? You can only to be sorry for people who are living in a world so far removed from the truth of what is going on. What a waste of time, space & taxpayers money they all are.

Pathetic.

Croydonian said...

Has Blair never read 'Ozymandias'?

Benedict White said...

This man and his team are clearly deluded beyond belief.

Have they not noticed Iraq or Afghanistan? Hospital closing wards and loosing services.

Madness.

Anonymous said...

Was the leaked memo written by Armando Iannucci ?
If so, he's returned to form.

On the other hand, if it's for real, then the Blair coterie seems finally to have lost its tenuous grasp on reality.

Anonymous said...

To leave office in a wave of popularity and public applause??

This man and those around him have finally "lost their marbels" They must all be delusional beyond belief.

Blair is loathed and despised as a snake oil salesman

Anonymous said...

The shame really lies with the labour backbenchers. Everytime Blair has come close to losing a vote in parliament he comes out with some pathetic rallying cry which really means "if I lose this vote you will lose your seats". The sad, talentless nerds are so afraid of losing all their perks that they have gone alomg with it. Principles are non existant these days. Blair/Greed is all that matters to them.
So here we are again, there is news that the backbenchers are in dissent so Blair "suggests" in a leaked memo that his end is near and its just before the Labour conference. "Rally around me lads and show your support because now you know I'm finally going".......yea he's going to shit on 'em again and the stupid nerds are gonna cheer and shout, no nasty question about Iraq, soldiers dying because he couldn't tell the truth, out of control immigration, schools, hospitals..... etc.
Ugh! Pass me a sick bag!

Bel said...

He needs to go with the crowds wanting more. He should be the star who won't even play that last encore.

How embarrassing for such comments to see the light of day. These people are shameless.

Anonymous said...

Appearances on "Blue Peter" and "Songs of Praise"?

He's really going to be given a searching farewell Q&A on those isn't he?

Just about sums up the oleaginous scum-bag perfectly.

The most galling thing is, that after comprehensively wrecking the country (quite probably beyond meaningful repair), the total bastard (along with his hideous, grasping harpy of a wife) will probably end up in some sumptuous Tuscan villa surrounded by security for the rest of his days.

We, however will have to live in the shit he and his co-workers on the NuLab project have created.

A thousand plagues on the lot of them.

indigo said...

a wave of euphoria ... Mr Blair's "farewell tour" includes plans to appear on Blue Peter, Songs of Praise and Chris Evans' radio show

This is "stepping down" as Ascension Into Heaven. Tony intends to show that Jesus bar Joseph how it should be done. Really, you know, Jesus skimped his Ascension - what a missed opportunity - He should have done a Grand Tour of the lepers He had cured, a round-up of His greatest triumphs (eg another water into wine event) and He should have been "seen with people who will raise eyebrows" - how about a photo opportunity with Him and Pontius Pilate shaking hands, and Pilate perhaps saying, "Good on you, King of the Jews, no hard feelings - eh?"

Tony intends to show Jesus how NuLab would have Raptured Him, if only He had dumped Holy Ghost PR Ltd.

*goes off to mortify her flesh*

Anonymous said...

I'll repeat what I said earlier. Several senior civil servants not under the political control of Tony Blair have been told they cannot take a holiday immediately after the Labour Party conference.

Shame I was hoping for Tony to stay for longer - to give the Tories a bigger lead.

Scipio said...

OK. Some thoughts!

1. Blair was only ever concerned with his 'place in history' and doesn;t give a toss about (a) the country (b) the Labour party or (c) anything else except feeding his massive over inflated ego and 'messiah complex'.

2. What the bloody hell has he achieved? He inherited a good economy but has damaged it through red tape and increased taxation, he has taken us into two (or is it three) needless wars two of which will be long expensive and bloody slogs, he has currupted the political process and left it in a sleazier state than it was previously, he has missed every opportunity to improve the delivery of public services because he has not been brave enough, school kids are less well educated than they were a decade ago, productivity in the economy has dropeed, tax rates are now at a historic high, he has turned off a whole generation of people from politics due to his nauseating faux sincerity and 'trust me' whoppers, we now have more sink estates and feral kids with no discipline who are a real menace to civil society that ever, the EU runs rampant because he capitulates at every turn, we are poodles to a brain-dead meglomaniac US president, we are rapidly becoming a country which is (a) dependent on importing cheap labour and (b) pricing ourself out of the market, and.....I will leave it there for now as my blood presssure is rising!

3. Ten years ago I said to someone I was at Univeristy with that Blair's ultimate intention was to get himself in as either President of the European Commission, or Sec Gen of the UN! I was laughed at by this Blairite toady - and I challenged him to look me up ten years later. I still believe I am right. This man has no end to his ego.

4. I am not a spiteful person, and I am fairly un judgemental and forgiving, but I truly hate Tony Blair with every fibre of my being!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe the e-mail was leaked with Number 10's approval, for it's a devastating comment on the priorities of this rotten government. I hope it's reprinted in every newspaper in the land.

The mystery is why it was sent to NuLab supporter Kevin McGuire and not to the Daily Mail, unless the Mirror Editor is doing Gordon Brown a favour.

Anonymous said...

The whole thing is a crock of shit and a smokescreen. Blair isn't going anywhere. He won't go until forceably removed. In fact I think he will once again double cross Brown and not step down before the next election. He'll simply come up with some "crisis" that says the country needs him at the helm.

Anonymous said...

It's probably all down to mixing with the showbiz crowd where it's the done thing for pathetic old slappers to do a farewell tour.

And he'll mix with real people. Wow! Bit late, isn't it?
Blue Peter, too.
"Now Toni - show us how to make a political legacy using eco-friendly loo rolls, sticky-backed plastic and potato cut-outs and poster paints for that really sophisticated finish."
Songs of Praise:
"Look. The really important thing is that it's not just me that's being praised here...."

If it happens it could be the unintended comedy hit of the year.
But at least he'll have gone .... except.... how many final farewell tours does he think he can get away with? Three? Five?
Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Anonymous said...

Who cares? He'll go when he wants to unless the lily-livered NuLab bunch find the guts to turn him out. It's all a becoming a bit of a bore, especially with all the other issues which need to be sorted.

fairdealphil said...

So Iain suggests that the Mirros letter was leaked by Number 10...I can see the Mail splash tomorrow...Top blogger in Blair conspiracy...I think it's possible it could be true," says unnamed source.


Meanwhile Iain says:

>Imagine I am figuratively rubbing my hands with glee as I type this - a feat in itself>

I suggest you keep both hands where we can see them, thankyou Iain.

fairdealphil said...

For those who can't be arsed to read the "sensational" memo, in a nutshell it says:

1. Blair to quit before the next Election in good time for an orderly handover.

2. The media will interview him when he steps down.

And...?

Anonymous said...

This article seems a bit long for The Mirror.

Anonymous said...

Typical Nulab spin.

More panicking in an attempt to take back the initiative after whispers about the letters of dissent made it into MSM.

No doubt we will be bombarded with more of his two faced, self important drivel for more months to come as he attempts to convince us all what a wonderful life we have had over the last decade.

The only blaze of glory I'd like to see regarding this sycophantic moron and and his horrific wife would be a public burning at the stake for the pair of 'em.

The Daily Pundit said...

Apparently, Labour MP Chris Bryant is one of the ringleaders organising signatures for a letter demanding that Blair steps down as soon as possible.

A number 10 insider said, “You know it’s serious when ‘underpants man’ is calling for you to go.”

The Hitch said...

That really is head in your hands stuff, just what are these legacys?
A private pension system destroyed?
An education system destroyed?
Huge stored up pensions crisis due to our bloated public sector?
iraq in ruins and britain a terror target?
Uncontrolled immigration?
Crime through the rof?
An education system in disarray?
Billions pissed up the wall on vanity projects?
A health service in meltdown?

I sometime wonder if I am the only person that sees this, and nw we have the Konservatives promising to spend even more of our money.

Anonymous said...

One thing that caught my eye is the suggestion of a by-election in Sedgefield - traditionally an Ueber-safe Labour seat, but post Blair?

Losing there really WOULD be a fitting legacy...

Anonymous said...

His place in history will be well below Mrs. Thatcher's. I hope that she is alive to see him go.

Anonymous said...

It just goes to show how totally out of touch with ordinary people NuLab and their hangers-on have become. It reminds me of the scene in Downfall where Hitler, by then completely gaga, tells a senior officer how two non-existent divisions are going to come to the defence of Berlin. Quite pathetic. Time for the men in white coats to come and take them all away, methinks.

Will one MP please have the courage to repeat in full Cromwell's dismissal of the Long Parliament of 1653 ( http://castorblog.com/archives/000275.html ):

"It is high time for Me to put an End to your Sitting in this Place, which you have dishonoured by your Contempt of all Virtue, and defiled by your Practice of every Vice;

Ye are a factious Crew and Enemies of all good Government; Ye are a Pack of mercenary Wretches and would, like Esau, Sell your Country for a Mess of Pottage; and like Judas, betray your God for a few Pieces of Money; Is there a single Virtue now remaining amongst you?

Is there one Vice that you do not possess? Ye have no more Religion than my horse! Gold is your God: Which of you have not bartered your Conscience for Bribes?

Is there a Man amongst you that has the least care for the Good of the Commonwealth?

Ye sordid prostitutes! Have you not defiled this Sacred Place, and turned the Lord's Temple into a Den of Thieves by your immoral Principles and wicked Practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole Nation.

Your Country therefore calls upon me to cleanse the Augean Stable, by putting a final Period to your Iniquitous Proceedings in this House, and which by God's Help, and the strength He has given Me, I now come to do.

I command ye, therefore, upon the Peril of your Lives, to depart immediately out of this Place;

Go! Get out! Make haste, ye Venal Slaves, begone!"

ThunderDragon said...

So that "the public remember him as he should be". Yes, as he should have been, not as he was!

Anonymous said...

As everyone at Westminster knows - no one at Number Ten talks to Maguire because he's such a Brownite lickspittle. (PS. There's a clue to the source of the story!)

Anonymous said...

I sincerely hope his last appearence in this country is in the dock at the Old Bailey. With no parole granted during his sentencing (Dr. John Reid grinning manically at that one!).
Closely followed by his final appearence on the world stage at the War Crimes court in the Hague.

neil craig said...

The problem with leaving with a "triumph" & "wave of euphoria"(that can be taken 2 ways) is that triumphs look thin on the horizon. Since the election he has clearly been looking for a triumph (EU presidency, presuading Bush to sign Kyoto, persuading the Kyotoists to sign to Bush's technological solution, peace in Iraq, peace in the middle east, new nuclear power etc.) but since he has no vision & his supporters have only contempt for him triumph does not seem an option. Being on Blue Peter is no alternative.

I predict that a month after he goes none of his colleagues will admit having ever met him.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for copying the article, Iain- can't bear to pay for that ghastly rag since they tried to smear the Army.

Anonymous said...

Blair has never wanted Brown to succeed. He wants an alternative who is not Scottish and is homing in on Johnson but he and Blair need time for him to make his mark. The problem is whether the Labour Party will go along with the theory or panic. For the truth is that Cameron has out foxed Labour and No 10 knows this. Moreover Brown is not capable of wilding the knife and has become a modern day RAB Butler.

Tapestry said...

The Blair bunker crew has designed a new range of invincible V-weapons - appearances on Blue Peter, Songs Of Praise and even visits to British Cities. My God they'll be grateful to have the chance to see St Tony before the socialist hordes finally descend, and he ascends into News Corporation's employment.

AnyonebutBlair said...

C'mon Gordon, plunge the knife in or are you still too scared? The Blair boys are laughing at you as a serial ditherer...have you no principles other than becoming PM?

The Hitch said...

Why are we all so jubillant about seeing the ack of Tony?
All we are going to get when he goes is another Tony.
I nearly choked on my muslie this mornin whe I read that the Conservatives are going to increase spending (taxes)
Just what are they for other than to provide a cosy bilett for a bunch of w******?
I do hope the likes of iain dale and david davis are playing a game and waiting for son of Ghandi to fall over with his pants around his ankles.

Anonymous said...

You've missed read this one Iain. This goes down with the other leaked memos (euro; eye catching initiatives) etc as an abolsolute disaster for blair.

does look like he is interested in a debate about the future, but a revision of the past.

Anonymous said...

I'm afraid that as a nation we are all the things Cromwell (rightly) accused the Long Parliament of being. But still we don't deserve that serial criminal and his (what was it?) hideous, grasping harpy of a wife.

macles said...

I'm stunned again to read an apparently "sincere" article in a British newspaper that is so surreal it would fit directly onto the frontpage of the Onion.

Armando Ianucci's hilarious spoof interview with Blair in the Guardian was very prescient if this latest leak is an indication of how delusional the "central figures" (Blair's ulatra-loyalist nutjobs) of the British government are.

Blair is utterly barking. But hell, he's not alone, By the look of it, his madness is becoming contagious...

Anonymous said...

Those the God's destroy they first send mad or is Icarus a better analogy. You choose.

macles said...

I'd just add, the memo-thing in the Mirror was likely written in green crayon and covered in slaver...

Anonymous said...

"He needs to embrace open spaces"

Plenty of that sleeping next to him, I would have thought.

Bom-tish!

Anonymous said...

The problem is if I put Blair into my dustbin he would not now be collected for two weeks, his smell is already terrible with slease,maybe a few maggots would improve him.

Anonymous said...

I think we can rely upon Prescott to provide a fanfare of strumpets.

Anonymous said...

Pass the sickbag, Alice.

This vainglorious madman needs a 6 month farewell tour as a landrover driver in Afghanistan.

Anonymous said...

"The Blair legacy will always be Iraq, his revolting alliance with Bush and the lies he sanctioned in order to fool Parliament into voting for it."

Parliament was not fooled into voting for war. It waited only as long as it took to make the lies plausible.

The notion that a majority of our parliamentarians could not grasp what most of the electorate could is a self-serving convenience.

Anonymous said...

"The Blair legacy will always be Iraq, his revolting alliance with Bush and the lies he sanctioned in order to fool Parliament into voting for it."

Parliament was not fooled into voting for war. It waited only as long as it took to make the lies plausible.

The notion that a majority of our parliamentarians could not grasp what most of the electorate could is a self-serving convenience.

Anonymous said...

I read the article right up until it said:

(((The retirement blueprint aims to promote the "triumph of Blairism" and allow the PM to quit on a wave of euphoria)))

A wave of euphoria? Just who are these imbeciles trying to kid, other than themselves of course which seems par for the Blair course. Why should his advisors be any less in denial than him?

This is fantasy island if Bliar, or anyone near him, think he is going anywhere with anything other than a good kick up the arse, and good riddance too.

Anonymous said...

to quote JFK on nixon "He went out as he came in no class" good riddance to this warmongering tosser and that vile
freeloader of a wife.

macles said...

Just one more thing. If we want (oh boy, do we) a Nixon legacy for Tone, we'll need an impeachment or a post-office arrest and trial. Are plans afoot?

Anonymous said...

And there is going to be a major television onslaught. The man with no concept of reality will appear on a lotb of 'no reality' TV. So Tony Blair is going to appear on 'Hate Island' and the 'ZZZZZZ Factor', followed up with a cameo appearance on Big Brother's successor:'Little Member'.

Anonymous said...

Rog said...
Appearances on "Blue Peter" and "Songs of Praise"?

He's really going to be given a searching farewell Q&A on those isn't he?

well m dont know about SOP but the kids arnt that daft, remember thatcher got the 'were will you be when the bomb goes off, in your bunker' lets hope our kids also get the chance to do the same live with tony.

Anonymous said...

For the Dear Leader, the Blairina and all NuLab acolytes from Jabba the Grope down, I can only wish them the following in this life:

"May the fleas of a thousand desert camels infest their armpits."

and in the life to come:

"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." (Rev 21:8)