Tony Blair on the Labour Party crisis - UNCUT INTERVIEW - BBC Newsnight
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- Labour's last prime minister Tony Blair warns the party's future is in jeopardy if the current leadership style endures. Subscribe to our channel here: goo.gl/31Q53F
In this extended uncut interview, former Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks to Newsnight about Labour's worst election result since 1935 , why he still opposes a second Scottish independence referendum and how he feels more politically motivated than ever.
Newsnight is the BBC's flagship news and current affairs TV programme - with analysis, debate, exclusives, and robust interviews.
Website: www.bbc.co.uk/...
Twitter: / bbcnewsnight
Facebook: / bbcnewsnight
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
STOP INTERRUPTING!!! I'm sick of the modern way of interviewing, it's more of an interrogation. Let. The. Interviewee. Speak.
That's how journalism works: the interviewer has an agenda to push and manoeuvres you into saying what she/he wants you to say. It's up to interviewee to recognize this and outmanoeuvre the journalist.
@@allenmontrasio8962 what do you think her agenda is here?
Doesn't really matter, I was speaking generally, but - to the point: defend Corbyn's catastrofic defeat and make Blair look like a dick.
That’s called scrutiny. 👍
@@allenmontrasio8962 but why? Being critical isn't the same as being cynical. Not everything is subversion.
Say what you want about Blair, he understands political strategy. Far more than most in current Labour at the moment. The interviewer seems a little slow though.
Finally someone in the commentary who looks beyond the obvious. You are of a rare and admirable breed. Most others just love to nourish their grudge against him and stopped listening the moment he opened his mouth, even when wisdom was coming out.
Agreed and agreed
@Wilbur Wafer I know, the mess in the Middle East is partly (!) because Blair trusted US 'intel' and Colin Powell, who - let's agree on that - was a man of standing before the shit came down in Iraq in 2003. Let's just say I'm either just a naive turd or just an idiot, but somehow I think Blair acted in good faith. After all, what was there for Britain or Blair personally to be gained? Besides that, apart from the casus belli - the fictionalized WMD - there were plenty of good reasons to get rid of Saddam Hussein at the time as he was a very ennoying thorn in the side of all countries involved in the ME. One can blame Blair for being overly naive though about US intentions (to get their greedy fingers on Iriaqi oil), the lack of a strategy (other than Rumsfeld's 'schock and awe') and the lack of any interest in possible worst case scenarios after Hussein was disposed of. But we're talking 2003 here, just 2 years after 9/11 and clear signs that Al Qaeda was spreadig its wings in Mesopotamia as well (which proved to be a correct assessment by intelligence). I find the term "mass murderer" a stretch too far, but I agree that with the luxury of hindsight, this wasn't Blair's finest moment.
He understands political strategy and how to get power , but he has no political beliefs. He did nothing to reverse Thatcherite policies and he introduced PFIs to the NHS leaving it saddled with a gigantic £80 Billion debt.
@@lewisner Not certain about that. I think Blair knows all too well, that one cannot have a sustainable Labour government if that reverses every single Thatcherite measure. Don't forget: ultimately the swing vote (pretty conservative middle class voters mainly) determines the outcome of elections, not the steadfast supporters. Look at how Corbyn faired: a man of principle to the very last but with very little popular support. That's the problem in all of politics in a democracy, one has to be able to make a lot of compromises if one is to realize only a fraction of his beliefs. That is sad enough in itself, but I can't remember any politician winning an election on persuasive arguments and facts. It's all about (broad) appeal I'm afraid. Something Blair had (and rightfully lost) and now Johnson seems to have.
I agree, his policies were far from ideal and he might have done a better job. But keeping all frogs in one basket is easier said than done, unfortunately. One has to be quite the pragmatic manager beside being an idealist to make things work. That is the honest truth and one few are willing to hear about or acknowledge.
I'm not a Blairite, but sometimes I feel the need to put some perspective between the justifid outrage. I know, I'm a bit of a wanker ;)
"It's my right to speak and it's your right to refuse to listen, but dont tell me I cant speak and I wont tell you, you've got to listen"
Truth
Lol no. He's a war criminal. He should be in jail not on prime time tv
Yep. His logic is hard to argue against, which is why the vast majority of criticism refuses to engage with anything he says and resorts to personal attacks.
@@dreamer2260 While you are right, he should also still be in jail.
Has Wright Ignorant moron
lol... truth, without evidence? lol
I’m actually reevaluating my thoughts on new labour.
He understands the British people more than Corbyn does. Most don’t want radical left or radical right. They just want things to work, to be affordable, to have good public services and be able to put some money aside for a rainy day.
Corbyn is the problem. He is like the problem child of Justin Trudeau totalitarianism and Anthony Fauci deception. Labor are comiting political suicide. On the other hand. Blair biggest problem was his foreign policy acting as Bush's lacky.
@@masnwrdl0511 no they aren’t.
85% of the population is white.
Gammon.
@@masnwrdl0511 Calm Down Mein Furher
Yeh Blair really looked after this country well didn’t he?! 🤪. Evil
Time has shown you to be right. Corbynism has alienated Labour voters from their party.
Love him or loathe him, but he’s spot on about the crisis facing the Labour Party.
@Darth Pepe I lived in the north and they've very short memories of how they were treated by Tories .... And most northern towns don't even have a big Immigration issue. In North Yorkshire/Co Durham/ Northumberland etc there're barely any, never mind what people think, I lived there and saw first hand just how little immigration there was. Blair isn't true labour he's a purple Tory - who was edging ever further to centre right!
That's how he won 3 elections because the right-wing press accepted him!
He's always had the gift of the gab, I'll say that for him
@@johnpaton6869 Labour can identify as Socialists all they want but it dosent make it so, these people are not Socialists because they treat the working class like garbage, just lab rats for there spiteful and devisive social engineering.
@Darth Pepe you're chatting complete rubbish! The bankers put this country in a mess through complete greed!! Not by Blair funding the NHS and other public services 🙄
@Darth Pepe born and raised in Liverpool myself. You don't represent many people who live here- quite the opposite actually
You know it's real bad when Tony fucking Blair starts to talk sense.
Yeah I know
to be fair, he is a very good speaker.
He's a liar. RIP Dr David Kelly.
@@solargold9213 He's extremely intelligent and perceptive. I'm much further left than him, but imo he's well worth listening to.
Also, he is the last Labour leader to win. And the only one to win in my lifetime (5 conservative leaders have won in my life). So he has some idea at how to make Labour electable
I do wish political interviews would interview, instead of just searching for the headline.
This. Soooo this!
Never thought about it that way... so true
Feed up with up the feminist
Did this cretin ever have anything to add to the world? I see deaths that it created, certainly never saw any depth to the meglomaniac gibberish that came out of it's mouth.
Kirsty is really pissing me off taking her glasses off and putting them back on!!!!
She is a horror.
If u wore specs.....then u wud understand.....
@@neerajbenjamin9264 I do wear specs, ask questions before you make assumptions.
@@MrTonycoughlan wotever
The reason that Labour got such a kicking was because they’re went against Brexit and ignored the wishes of hard core labour voters
Corbyn also played a significant role
Correct
@@samcad-ho3ze incorrect
Plus people rejected Corbyn & communism, until that stops, they will be in the wilderness
As much as I hate Blair, he is right here
Tru Say Mi Bredrin...
Of all the UK political parties, Labour is, I am convinced, the most difficult to lead.
Ironically so. tories should be the hardest yet any bumbling idiot can lead them to a majority election
Leading the long march of progress will always be harder than the defence of the status quo. Look at any progressive movement in history and it has been lead by progressives and resisted by conservatives. Anti-slavery, woman’s suffrage, the NHS, gay rights, workers rights, anti-war movements. In every single case, before they’re enacted and accepted on the back of a progressive movement, they’re revisited and attacked by a conservative establishment.
@@chrispeacock1257 gay rights? you mean gay marriage? Progressives have also destroyed the meaning of biological sex, nuclear family and undermined the nation-state by embracing global migration.
@@chrispeacock1257 “Progressives” are so headstrong about “‘moving forward”, they don’t bother to look beneath their feet. They’d step off a cliff and claim it was progressive.
Society needs conservatives. Left to its own devices, the left would have society implode.
difficult leading a bunch of morons
“Labour last pm” Gordon brown would like a word
Who?
@@stephenmurray2851 He was one of the worst PM in history.
@@jasonkingshott2971 All labour PMs normally are
@@stephenmurray2851 ...or criminals don't forget!
@wakenbaker-uk ...and people listen and are still listening to this clown!
Blair is a war criminal, whose hands are full of blood of Iraqi children, yet he smiles always, shame on you!
Blair started the whole immigration mess.
ROBERT POLATAJKO 30 Jun 2019 7:36PM
Labour are liars. No one should vote Labour because of it's appalling record from 1997 to 2010. Now Corbyn is descending into outright Marxism.
Here is the Labour legacy
- Iraq and Afghanistan
- Rotherham grooming and abuse scandal, Mid Staffs NHS scandal, Birmingham schools Islamic fundamentalism Trojan horse.
- Continued anti Semitism and support for terrorists.
- Increased political correctness, particularly in the education system to brainwash children.
- Policy run by the Unions
- Started HS2, stuffed us with NHS PFI
- Sowed the seeds of the destruction of the Union with lopsided devolution, ignoring England.
- Destroyed the final salary pension system
- Gave away our EU rebate
- Sucked up to the bankers creating horrendous consequences for britain in the global recession taking a generation to fix
- Gave away sovereignty through Lisbon and the Human Rights Act
- Abused state finances with 0.7% overseas aid pledge
- Halved manufacturing from 22% to 11% of gdp
- Abolished Primary Purpose Rule and allowed immediate A8 accession allowing 7 million immigrants into Britain 1997 to 2010 in a deliberate attempt to build its voting base.
- Sucked up to crony public sector Unions by inflating pay and pensions of an unreformed public sector
- Did nothing to invest in our infrastructure.
- Imposed postal voting extension open to political corruption.
- Spent so much money on Labour cronies that we had a 5% structural deficit at the height of the boom.
- Impoverished millions with the Climate Change Act of alternative energy zealotry.
- Created the conditions in which thousands died unnecessarily in the NHS
- Created the catastrophe of multicultural extremism.
- Allowed failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants to stay in Britain.
- Sent our military to wars under equipped
- Failed to secure our borders.
- Sold off our gold at rock bottom prices
- Created hundreds of quangoes to carry out Labour ideology and stuffed them with socialist placemen.
- Created welfare as a lifestyle, with the totally dysfunctional tax credit system, and the catastrophe of excessive housing benefit
I am sure there is much more incompetence, self interest and cronyism but who would vote for Labour Based on that record ?
And then there's all the orchestrated lies and accusations of paedophilia and murder spread by Tom Watson against innocent men. Watson (knowing Carl Beech as he undoubtedly did) knew it was lies. And yet Labour hierarchy and grandees like Harriet Harman and her husband Jack Dromey actively supported, and advocated for known paedophiles in the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE).
Labour and its socialist following are utterly disgusting.
I think it was Julius Caesar and William The Conqueror actually. Oh... and the Vikings, and the Angles, Saxons and Jutes.
@@mit6635 I don't know how you look at mass immigration and see it as a positive, as constructive. Especially with the state of the NHS
@MrQuidestveritas tell that to Rotherham
@MrQuidestveritas They're all certainly factors, but there is no getting away from the fact that drastically increasing the population puts pressure on society at all levels.
I like how the Labour party gets the idea that it would be nice to hire a woman but the most important thing is they need to be the right person for the job. But only when they're talking about picking their own leader.
The British electorate refused to hire a communist government. After four losses, the last loss being a route, maybe it might be a great idea to shift back to the middle and give up your communist dreams of utopia...
The Labour party also thinks that if their next leader has a northern accent, everything will be fine!
@@stevetattersall5933 ............Or God forbid, a Birmingham one !
wildebest - it’s human nature to be drawn to charismatic people..
@wildebest Boris is honest?... Wow, I wouldn't say any politicians are honest
Tony Blair: "7:17 You can't win on Brexit" Boris Johnson: "Hold my beer..."
I think he was saying Labour specifically couldn't win on Brexit, specifically because the base was split 60/40 on it anyway, so allowing the entire election to revolve around Brexit and the will of the people, Labour ceded the strategic advantage very early on.
@Derreck Jones But in 2019, if Labour had promess to uphold the result, MANY people would have voted Liberal Democrat. In 2017, the Lib Dem also promessed to uphold the result, which was always a joke. In any case, nobody voted for them. But just before Labour finally revealed their brexit policy, they were polling at 19 %, VERY CLOSE to Labour, because they actually said clearly that a vote for the Lib Dem was a vote to cancel Brexit.
I don't think Labour had really any chance to win this election.
He was talking from a left-wing/Labour perspective.
As much as I dislike Blair and as much as I like Corbyn as a person, Labour are finished unless they elect a centre left leader. You cannot win an election on a hard left platform.
Seems centre left these days is viewed as being to the right of thatcher.
@@jgmediting7770 Yikes. So what does that make Johnson and the current Tory mob?!
Mr Red - given far right parties are backing Johnson and telling their members to join the Tory party, and old tories like major and others were telling people not to vote Tory, take a guess.
Though ultimately, the tories are what they’ve always been, the party whose core objective is looking after the interests of the rich elite at everyone else’s expense, and they’ll move wherever they need to be to get enough votes to achieve power so they can carry out that objective. Achieving power and carrying out that objective is their only guiding principle.
The fact the business propaganda system has moved the Overton window a long way to the right over the past 40 years explains why the so called centre ground has moved right of thatcher and the old centre left is now described as far left. The 50s/60s Tory government’s would be described as left wing today, and would have been attacked constantly if up against Johnson’s party in this election. That’s how far right the general public have been manipulated by decades of business propaganda. Labour’s policies were centre left at this election. Middle of the road social democratic, like numerous other European countries.
JGM Editing Wow. Congrats on totally misreading the general political landscape. 🙄
JGM Editing you talk rubbish,torys support business,which are the wealth creators,labour want to destroy capitalism and make everyone poor .
"I wanted to do everything I could to stop Brexit"
Says all you need to know...
Exactly
and so it does and rightly too.
@@elwynjones763 you thought he should have stopped Brexit?
If he was smart, he would have campaigned for Brexit. That would've helped remain far more.
@@gwmcd no one would have believed him and he'd have to admit working against the country to sign us away in the first place after a promised referendum he'd reneged on, not to mention he's nationally despised, we see through that shite
He sounds more stressed now than he ever did as PM.
He is suffering the torment for what happened in Iraq and it will haunt him for the rest of his days.
The man who built the New Labour is also the one who destroyed it.
Robin Jackson He won’t be sorry. He is stressed because of Brexit more like
he's stressed because he's power hungry and a megalomaniac but he has no way of influencing events. He should enjoy the massive wealth he has accumulated since leaving office and go quietly, he's no longer relevant or respected.
Perhaps because the country is in a far worse state now than it was during his premiership.
I can't help but respect his intelligence, history of electoral success and his political instincts. Labour could do far worse than listen to some of his strategy advice.
No they shouldn't. This man single handedly ruin Britain. Destroyed our international perception. Help with the rise of China. Destabilised a whole region and with millions of deaths by his hands. All the while making him self rich and becoming an ambassador to the area he helped destroy. Feckless shape of a man. Inform your self
@@muglypunt968 Haha singlehandedly ruined Britain? If anyone did, it was Thatcher; we’re still living in her blasted, ruined political and social wasteland of a legacy. Helper with the rise of China? Oh my, you are sadly deluded if you think anything anyone in the UK did had any effect of note on China’s growth. Their economy grew by around 10% a year for thirty years, and still going at around 5/6%. And that started well before Blair’s tenure. Blair made a terrible error in following Bush into Iraq, but also bear in mind that the Americans were there too. It wasn’t just us; in fact our force barely scratched what the Americans sent.
But in any case this is about whether Blair ruined Britain. Blair’s domestic agenda wasn’t perfect, but it was good. It resulted in significant improvements in the performance and service of the NHS, investments in education and public services, significant reductions in poverty. Was forward looking about climate change and the opportunities in new industries and technologies around that. The Tory hegemony since has simply been an effort to reverse all those gains and re-cement the power and wealth of those at the top, whilst retaining a fucking stupid, blinkered, short termism that’s seen us lag behind on climate change and the shift to new technologies when we could (and would have been under Labour) have been leading the world. Really as simple as that.
@@dreamer2260 he opened the door to millions of immigrants that have gutted the working class, as well as creating deep cultural divides that will only worsen. Sold us hook line and sinker to EU tied economy. He would have given away the pound but it was luckily held on to. Created a war that threw us further in to a unpayable debt and made us look like America's lap dogs on a world stage. Yeah yeah Thatcher..... The left has been killing this country for decades and normal people have woken up to that fact. Either the Labour party waked up or it gets destroyed. They have no connection to normal people and the conservatives are going to keep crushing them until they get off their suicide path of self mutilation. Which I personal find hilarious but here we go
@@dreamer2260 also the NHS has become untenable, education has only gotten worse since Blair and the government handouts are at an all time high. This is not sustainable and the Tory's have had to counter this with every spell in charge they have had. I'm no Tory but labour are evil. Using good intentions to cripple us financially, spirituality and socially. You can thank them when everything collapses. How can we support an ever growing social system without massive tax hikes? Why should normal people be forced to pay for others that don't care?
@@muglypunt968 you do realise open immigration is a right wing idea, right? Freedom of movement is a fundamentally capitalist idea, as freedom of workers to move around the globe is ideal for corporations. Also, many EU immigrants (poles) have a net surplus in how much they contribute to the economy, essentially they put more in than out.
I don't like Blair but he talks a lot of sense here
He always talks a lot of sense. and he knows how to win elections. For all his failings - he is/was a very good politician
Until he goes on about denying a democratic vote
@@philread7668 Yep, exactly.
He talks a lot of sense. There is no longer a cohesive working class based on occupation as there was in the ‘70s. Labour has to appeal to a new constituency
The working class is generally defined by its social conservatism Johnson did well to appeal to that labour has rejected that with crazy virtue signal liberalism
BOB Supple Exactly. This is why the labour MP’s had been trying to get Corbyn out for years prior- they knew attracting the young urbanites with their SJW liberal tendencies would alienate their base. Lo and behold.
On the contrary, the cohesive working class in the North voted solidly for Brexit and felt abandoned and betrayed by the 'middle class Londoners' running Labour. Tony Blair wanted a stronger REMAIN stance and was part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Sauron Merciful it could take 5-10 year as long as it happens. Thats the mane thing.
The only hope for Labour now is to elect a leader with deep trade union roots
Then maybe they can win a election again...
"Labour's last prime minister"... Gordon Brown is forgotten
Who???
@@johnmac1960 Justifiably so.
@@johnmac1960 Gordon Brown
Hmm.....The Scot...who lost Five Billion Of Gold Bullion in a bad, bad deal........Brown....Prime Minister But Not by Public Vote at Election Time!
Gordon Brown didnt win an election. Tony Blair is last elected labour PM
This is a reasoned response to what happened to his party. The sad thing for him is that many in his own party believe that they weren’t extreme enough.
You mean like left wing values the party was founded on ?
@@slipperywinston4076 There's left wing values, and then there's Corbynism which is FAR FAR LEFT.
Blair: we needed a second referendum
Blair: unions say they listen to the working class then ignore them
That makes no sense. You do realise that a referendum involves giving people a vote? Leavers would have been just as entitled to vote in it as anyone else
@@barry1369 He certainly isn’t a career politicians. Even the Old Labour heads who disliked him didn’t consider him a career politicians and denounced such claims. Come on, who would have wanted a career with Labour during Foot?
He means we needed to give him whatever he wanted. He is a sick b*stard! He was caught cottaging boys when he was younger.
@@manaih5652 I think that’s precisely why he joined the Labour Party, as a destitute organisation it was much easier to take over and mould in his image.
The Unions have always ignored the working man or woman
Still a war criminal who should be in jail
true; but he's right on this and you know it; painful!
Which of the Geneva convention (the complete set of war crimes) are you referring to when you label him a war criminal?
Where I get hazy is the UN resolution saying Hussein needed to be removed if he continued to eject inspectors.
So, the whole war criminal thing, that’s codshit isn’t it?
Look he was wrong on the war as Bush was but Tony Blair is right the Labour Party they went too far left as some in the Democrat Party have here in the US.The far left promise way too much with no way too pay for it like free college for all I don't want too pay for someone too go to college and fuckoff and get drunk they flunk out,then have the far right loons who want too force their religion on everyone and want to cut Medicare and Medicaid and food stamps the poor depend on.
Ian... are you stoned? Are you that full of bitter, twisted vitriol about removing an actual dictator who murdered tens of thousands with poison gas that you would have the state reinstate capital punishment to execute blair?
I am deeply morbidly curious as to your logic. Please enthral us with your thoughts as to why it would be justified.
@@memphismemphis462 in my country there is free college ...and thank god becuse i have no money ...
This man's handling of Iraq ultimately screwed labour. He's never admitted it.
I know it’s the trendy thing to call him a war criminal, but can we try and remember what he did right? If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have a minimum wage, we’d still have to pay for state education, the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland may not have been signed for another ten years, most of the people of Kosovo would have been slaughtered by a war criminal, Saddam Hussein (another war criminal) would have killed even more innocent people and he also allowed LGBT people to be in legal civil partnerships. The deaths in Iraq wasn’t a good idea I’ll admit but I’ve seen too many people here completely forget about the other things he did. Not to mention, he knows how to get things done (He won three elections and allowed the Labour Party to enjoy success it hadn’t seen since it was ran by Harold Wilson in the 60s and 70s). It’s an unpopular opinion and may garner some hate but I think he’d be doing a far better job than Boris is currently doing. Blair is actually smart and understands politics and gives educated, coherent answers even on issues like Brexit compared to the bumbling, scripted rants and blurts of the sexist, racist and inept pig in office now who I’d wager can’t even tie his shoe laces by himself (he can barely sort his hair out or string a sentence together). I’d personally be happy to see him return to power.
Bloody well said. I'd vote for him in an instant. Sadly it's extremely unlikely. But yes he's always interesting to listen to.
Devolution was a very bad mistake for this country and also so many going to University and indoctrinated. The Labour are not for working class anymore
It really shows the dire state of politics when Tony Blair comes across as 'direct'... Like him or loathe him, he is a much more talented politician than this current crop put together.
Mike Hargreaves he has been direct, intelligent and thoughtful his entire career. Simply, now people can see past “war criminal” this “should be tried” that and actually listen to what this man has to say. He has always spoken sense, he’s an incredibly gifted and pragmatic politician and had to make decisions we couldn’t make as he was leading the whole country. It’s really beyond me why people reject Blairism (if that’s a word) and him as a prime minister - this country was fantastic when he was in power. Hopefully labour supporters will at least consider labour moving towards the centre again on certain policies.
@@ryanfreda9671 I think it was a case of live and die by the sword... Labour would have unlikely gained power without the support of the likes of Murdoch, however when the UK press turned against him, the public displayed how fickle they can be. It never ceases to amaze me how the public blames the Iraq war more on Blair than Bush, yet the Americans were responsible for nearly all the 'heavy lifting'. The danger of the persecution of Blair over Iraq means subsequent politicians will always avoid conflict even when the implications of taking no action are worse. Society's current nature of cynicism rather than scepticism worries me...
Mike Hargreaves couldn’t agree more
@@ryanfreda9671 Absolutely spot on.
0:00 She calls him 'Tony BEAR!" 🐻 😂
wow so funny
Not as funny as Victoria Derbyshire's version of Jeremy Hunt! 🤣🤣🤣
Lol
1:00 "Don't give Boris a Brexit general elections". Sometimes it seems Blair hates democracy.
Brexit is anti-democratic and anti-European and anti-liberal.
Hardly. He didn't want a general election to resolve Brexit. He wanted a referendum exclusive to the matter of Brexit.
@@sebastianeastment4553 I am sure he did. Those funny EU guys always want another referendum if the first one doesn't go their way. Doesn't make him much of a democrat.
@@fleetstreet11 How brexit is anti-allofthat?
@@batner I think the Brexit referendum highlighted how silly it was to put the issue to to a straight in-out referendum. The issue was that "OUT" meant different things to different people. Many people who wanted to leave for instance probably wanted to remain in the Customs Union, while others would've wanted a hard Brexit - neither has got what they wanted. It's also become abundantly clear that a good chunk of the arguments Brexiteers employed during the referendum campaign have been proven entirely false, so there's a good case to host another referendum based on more accurate information available to the voters. Nevertheless, Labour stupidly allowed for the general election and thus Boris Johnson has won a democratic mandate to pass his Brexit deal. Coming from an international perspective I think that's a huge mistake for the UK and/or a rather destructive action globally, but it's what the English have voted for.
Blair and the bbc, its what nightmares,are are made of, were is Owen, Soubry, Miller, and Grieve ?? The bbc ''Where truth and integrity go to die''
Like CNN here in the states worthless and liars
I love interviews like this one where the interviewer is trying to trap them but they refuse to fall into those traps.
Lol. Tony Blair is a corrupt dumb fuck. Literally a non-serious propagandist.
LOL...he fell into every trap .... he exposed labours hypocrisy !
You should inform your self quickly. There are evil people pretending to be good and with your help they get power. Tony Blair is a monster. Labour have been for a very long time.
Tony Blair, the war monster was just a right-wing planted into labour.
The interviewer is absolutely infuriating. So unprofessional
She doesn't give him a chance to speak, to open up. He has nothing to defend here. Why do political interviewers take this "gotcha" approach rather than wait to hear what their subject says?
Its annoying
streetlegalone .... balls, she lets him finish every point before asking the next question.
It's what Kirsty Wark does to all Labour heads,her and Laura are timid around the Tories!
It’s a female style because they’re not good at logical deduction
His description of Corbyn as “anti-Western” is... telling
john m well said
Jeremy Corbyn had less charisma than a stale baguette.
Which he was...and Corbyn will never beat Boris Johnson
@@davidraley3054Corbyn's a odious, divisive, and deeply unpleasant man
@@ChrisPatrick-q6kFor supporting terrorist groups and totalitarian regimes. He has been on Just Stop Oil marches.
Blair should be given as a peace offering to Iraq.
@historypoliticsbb Anyone that looks after their own people and Corbyn is only interested in anyone that is not native English. None of them are but Corbyn is an active racist.
@historypoliticsbb Every molecule in my body tells me not to vote Labour and I have been about long enough to know why.
Conservatives give most of my money to their mates and Labour would give the lot to every lost cause so long as it ain't English.
@historypoliticsbb Take your pick all obsolete. You could put some money into the English Democrats and pray.
As a Brexiteer I can still respect Blair's sincerity and integrity - at least he hasn't turned into a bitter curmudgeon like Alistair Campbell
seems to be allusions to past wrongs in criticisms of mr blair ..... and i simply have no knowledge of it ..... but on the face of it, surely his views are at least worth airing
Sincerity and integrity!? He votes labour while disagreeing with the policies!!
It’s weird since I’m a remainer and I think the complete opposite of him. Anyway well done on winning the ref 👏👏
I suspect the thing that Blair is most angry about is that his dream of one day becoming President of the EU will now never come true.
I think that's why most of the politicians don't want to leave the EU. They know that when the UK voters get sick of them they will find a nice, cosy sinecure there, with a fat salary, private jet and a pension. The EU was OK when it was just a free trade association. It went wrong when it became a political alliance as well. There are too many different national identities for it to work. I suspect that once we go others will follow.
@@mscott3918 once you go we'll laugh and laugh looking at your country breaking down to pieces and the people angrily asking to be let back in 😉
@Andrew Battersby except you're not even going to keep what comes before that deficit if Boris gets his loved hard brexit. See you're running a deficit in trade but 45% of your export (291bn) is going to be lost. Good fucking luck
@Qwfwq66 Not just but LOT & LOTS think like that......Hungary, Poland, Italy, Spain, along with US anti EU trade tariffs as well as Brexit.....keep up.
@Qwfwq66 Thanks Cpt Obvious that is what he posted. There is no fooling you!
In other words the majority will of the British people was locked in a box and we let it out.
Not a fan of tony but he gets it why no one wants labour. Far left anit british. Labour are finished
Blair never fails to appear as a ventriloquist's dummy
I love the way Tony Blair takes no credit for Brexit
Blair should take a lot of credit for Brexit, with all his and his cronies pro EU preaching, as a result, most of the great British public did the opposite, thanks Tone, and sorry about your future EU income.
He's not responsible, the Conservatives, particularly the ERG ARE!"!!
@@bryangeake5826 The Great British public are democratically responsible for leaving the racket called the EU.
Blair was just one conduit in their decision making process. After all these years, he still doesn't get it but, thanks tone.
@@jasonkingshott2971 Racket?? For every £1 we put into the EU the UK economy benefits via the customs union and free trade areas status with a £16-17 Trillion economy on our doorstep to the ratio of £6. Through better prices, better investment opportunities, improved access to capitol and flexible labour supply!! If thats a racket, more please!!
@@jasonkingshott2971 The ENGLISH public. The parts of the English public with an inflated sense of English exceptionalism.
The fire in his belly is back!
Funny how Clement Attlee who stood for similar ideals as Jeremy Corbyn was Britains most successful prime minister and yet Blair talks down on policies such as nationalisation and a bigger state. Attlee succeeded in his endeavours and Blair failed.
I can sense the comments coming, but its ridiculous for people to ignore what Blair says. He won 3 elections and is an astute politician. Also he isn't a war criminal. Get over it
Rigsby 1 How isn’t he a war criminal? He lied to the people and joined an unconstitutional war.
@@Crippycooke Forget it pal, his comment is straight from the Labour echo chamber. He probably doesn't even believe it himself.
So he won three elections. That does not put him on the side of the angels. And he has associated with some very nasty people since he left office. Seriously nasty people.
You can see why he was a leader.
He looks and sounds professional.
Yep.
Professional multi-millionaire liar.
@@thedukeofswellington1827 yes, but one who also kills thousands of innocent people.
@@user-pk4sd9dd2w yawnnnnnn
Matthew Hendy RIP Dr David Kelly.
Awesome interview. I didn't want to hear the former PM articulate his views on the recent election and the far-left takeover of the Labour Party. I wanted to watch Blair cut off every five seconds by an arrogant interviewer hell bent on tossing out nothing but gotcha questions. Very satisfying not having to watch ideas thoroughly examined and opinions completely fleshed out.
Hey it's Newsnight - what were you expecting?!😂
Guy who won 3 elections on a progressive platform having to explain himself to the ‘Corbynisters’ is a juxtaposition of the highest order.
In the Australian federal election of May 2019, the Labour Party lost the "unlosable " election by over-promising on social services by an un charismatic leader. The ALP was actually ahead in the polls. Corbyn should have observed and taken note. It seems to me as an outsider that British Labour would rather keep their ideology than win government with centrist manifesto.
In other words, don’t put up a candidate with a 25% Approval rating... charisma matters.
“centrist manifesto” LOL. You’re a dumbass if you think that is what wins. Maybe centrist on cultural issues but not economics. Boris went left-wing.
Yes, the charismatic leaders always deliver don't they?
@@blackout07blue Boris is not left wing lmao
Absolutely right, and the Corbyn line after the election, “we won the argument” sums it all up really
Not a fan of Blair, but this interviewer is terrible in the way she punctuates his responses with statements and questions which interrupt the flow of the exchange.
Retrosta a really good point, I was thinking the same about her interruptions.
Yes, it wasn't as if Blair was prevaricating or avoiding. Probably they have their prompt sheets with the expected answers laid out and then the supplementaries they use. So if it's not going in one of the production team's proscribed directions, the interviewer has to try and get it back on track.
he's like a whiny preacher who is just bothered about power and not ideology.
@@davedogge2280 If you don't know when to compromise and when to push for your ideals you won't end up with the power to apply them. Blair ended up drastically over compromising (to put it mildly) and Corbyn ended up drastically under compromising. Blair may be many things, but at least he's pragmatic enough to realise the gap between where Labour and the electorate are in terms of ideology.
@@davedogge2280 : to some people the ideological struggle might seem purer in opposition, he might say. It's certainly just turned out nice for them.
How sad the labour party as become when Blair gives advise.
Blair was a big reason I didn't vote Labour.
@Christopher Poole That is the sad truth that this war criminal makes the Corbyn'st look like ameatures.
Christopher Poole he sure does. If he didn't have the Iraq baggage he'd be odds on for a come back
Qwfwq66 obviously not as sad as you
I have always admired Blair's hypermetropia minus the Iraq War.
He has an impeccable mind and understands that socialists need to move to the centre-right to win votes.
Centre-left. But yes, otherwise I agree, and cheers for teaching me a new word.
@@dreamer2260 THANKS
Socialists must go to the right politically they have abandoned the working class for Wokism and globalism.
Did anyone else notice his hair parts CENTRE LEFT?
And
Great. He is centre left.
@wildebest that's the most Tory comment ever.
@wildebest
1. Tony Blair's hair is parted left of centre.
2. The Chief Rabbi proscribed the Labour Party as being anti-Semitic. That is fact that we are proscribed, and we can't do anything about it.
@wildebest tl;dr
Labour; "self indulgence, misguided ideology and utter incompetence. The hand maiden of Brexit." Yep, says it all.
Blair: "The British people have rejected far-left ideology"
British Elite: "There is no ideology except far-left ideology"
That's a recipe for success...
Eh? This makes no sense. What on earth are you on about?
@@wodenravens Bankers of a certain religious persuasion created and funded (with our money) communism, (kar1 Marx was in actual fact third cousin of Nathan Rothschild) the false choice of left or right when the reality is communism by stealth (left) or communism by extra stealth (right) The two parties are practically indistinguishable when you examine what they actually do and not what they say. Look up on RUclips
"Karl Marx Rothschilds"
"Ed Griffin the left right paradigm"
"Professor Anthony C Sutton Wall street and the Bo1shevik revolution"
For a primer
rocketmunkey1 You just spotted out a bunch of none sense, idiot
Marx was not related to any of the Rothchilds and the idea that Communism can be a right wing ideology is fundamentally pathetic
@@rocketmunkey1 so you're a racist anti Semite
@@zeddeka Racism the belief that one race is superior to all others, like you know like maybe a race of people who go round telling everyone THEY are Gods chosen people chosen to rule over all others, a self proclaimed "master race" if you will, yeah that kind of racism ! BTW the Rothschilds are not semites (dark skinned people from the middle east) they're Khazars (white skinned slavic race from the southern Caucasus)
A recent poll conducted with Labour Party members showed unbelievably that they considered Corbyn the best ever leader of the Labour Party . Not Blair , who won 3 elections or Wilson who won 2.or even Attlee the founder of the Welfare State , who won 1 .
Labour are doomed to self destruction if that's the case , picking Corbyn in a skirt to lead the party forward is the next step in that process
And the fact both those monsters are talked about positively shows why the Labour party is doomed to eradication. They are unfit for purpose and will probably die. Most people in Britain know Tony Blair is a monster and Corbyn is a communist.
Your comment is dated Flash forward 8 months and the Corbynist faction in the party has been muted, the Shadow front bench is mostly left of centre and Labour is ahead in the polls Would you like to review it?
@@jonnobloggs1139 No , not yet . The polls are meaningless at this point in time , the real poll, the next GE is far away . I see Sir Keith is trying to reposition Labour as a patriotic party , good move and not before time , but he is getting resistance from even his shadow cabinet . Pity he can’t bring himself to state a medical fact ,that only women have a cervix , in order not to upset the Trans community and the lefties .
This nonsense will never pass the pub test . Patriotism, policies that appeal to the aspirational working class and straightforward and honest communication with the people is what is needed to have a chance of getting into power again - even with the incompetence of the present Tory leadership .
Keir already has a cunning plan for your problem. At the weekend he will call himself Rebecca Long Starmer!!!
Labour was finished the minute him and his mate crashed the economy which has now led to what will be 15 years of the Tories. He should stay out of UK politics, if he loves the EU so much go to France or Spain or any other eu country
Blair has a property in Tuscany. So both bases covered. Also, 11 other properties dotted around
Going into Iraq was a terrible mistake.
On the other hand it gave Iraqis a chance to rid themselves of Saddam's terrible, disgusting, obscene regime. A regime that carried out torture, rape, murder and gassing of its own people. We didn't have to live under that obscene regime - they did.
Marty, I'm an iraqi born man. You are right the regime was not good. But what came after is 100+ Saddam's ruling our government. You have no idea what the war did to my country and people. It destroyed its social fabric and took it back 100 years. It created a vaccume for ISIS, and Iran control over a sovereign country. This is WORST than any dictatorship. The true terrorists were all those involved in the Iraq war. I love the UK and the people and 9 voted conservative but I will never forgive what the governments did to my home country.
@@martydav9475, might I ask if your views are similar on Gaddafi ?
Treckorz,
I've met some very interesting and chilled people from your place of birth, in U.K. & Aus.
You mention the u.k. and the vote.
By now you've seen the lies that took the allied nations over there, who told the lies and just what the
"western nations" people's and service people's know & feel..?
Anyways, thanks for sharing your words and perspective.
People need to know 😉
smallpicture a lie
Labour lost the Scotland heartlands first.......was a sign of things to come.
Let's hope an ENP doesn't replace them in England.
@@stunninglad1 well the SNP is basically all about the idea that the English are bad people who are holding Scots hostage and ruling over them. A throwback to hundreds of years ago which is why some are antagonistic towards England. Its evident in films like Trainspotting and the rant about being Scottish. Without that kind of historical grudge I dont think you would get an ENP.
The media and politicians act like there’s no long game and everything is an instantaneous reaction.
@@harryh3203 Yes, an ENP doesn't bear thinking about. The SNP are delusional about their Independence agenda. It wouldn't work. Brexit has been hard enough to organize without the impossible task of having to split up the UK, too. That would be a nightmare and must be avoided at all costs.
@@stunninglad1
Why?
I feel sick - I think I just largely agreed with Blair! Hypocrisy on talking about being in touch with working people with his Brexit stance aside that is. Labour certainly need to move significantly further over to the soft left, at least for the time being. It also needs a strong, charismatic and competent leader that can bridge the divisions.
Terrible interviewer but nevertheless Blair displays his formidable insight into British politics and the Labour Party. We’ve not had a leader like him since.
She was awful, trying to create a headline rather than allowing him to express himself. Say what you like about Blair but for me he is right, Labour need a shift back to the centre left.
True.
Flat Eric I’m in the beers here so bear with me, but I just felt she was trying to get him to say he agreed with Johnson, that a pointless angle to take and irrelevant. But I hear she’s very well respected.
GORT I’m not sure the Iraq/war crimes is as black and white as that. I do think Blair is a good politician but I do wonder why we align ourselves with America’s foreign policy. Bill Clinton said that the UK was put in a very bad situation by the U.S.
We do not want left I have been travelling around Europe left 5 euros minimum wage in Cyprus
Like him or hate him, he successfully won 3 elections. 3 for Blair, 0 for Corbyn.
I despise him but yeah, he's an effective political operator for sure
Only in the great, great nation of England. Free airtime for war criminals.
Conjecture. No proof.
@@steffanhoffmann8937 Uh huh. We all know all those dead people in that far away sovereign country came suddenly falling out off the sky just when the Brits flew uninvitedly over.
Moron.
Erik Wouda You are the moron if you think Saddam Hussein had sovereignty over the people he systematically tortured and murdered.
@@EVSmith-by9no You are the moron if you think Blair's cure was better than Saddam. Just look at the >1 to 2,4 million deaths in the aftermath of this illegal war.
Got friends in Irak that reached out to me when IS was just 25 km from their homes. All that would never have happened if Blair (and Bush) hadn't had their hubris.Just before Blair and Bush invasion they stated to me: "Saddam is a dick, but the US is pure evil".
It is a family that once had to flee Irak for Saddam, mind you. They very well know what they are talking about.
I would vote for anything before Blair. I thought nothing could be worse, except the Tories managed to be even more vile. Which is not to say that Blair is not vile. Just about anything is the lesser evil by comparison to these options.
The most truthful statement Blairs ever said, "Labour are finished if staying far to the left"
It's not true though. Labour lost because of their weak position on Brexit, not because of their manifesto or what Corbyn was stting on austerity, the NHS, etc. Their policies are very similar to what is already present throughout many Nordic/Scandinavian nations and have achieved success there.
He actually believes what he is saying
what hes saying is totally correct (for a change)... thankfully it doesn`t matter anymore and he and corbyn are now totally irrelevant
He’s 100% right on this! Regardless of what you think of him post Iraq, the man won 3 elections (including post Iraq) - he’s a master political strategist. He knows what does or doesn’t win elections.
@@JoelWende Maybe he's just another political psychopath who doesn't mind what damage he does along the way.
@@None-zc5vg That may or may not be true. None of that stops him being correct in what he's saying here!
He still doesn’t get that the majority of people want to leave the EU. The election proved that if there was a second referendum, leave would still win. The real problem with Labour is people like himself who continue to undermine the vote to leave and insist people voted Brexit for other reasons. People have had enough of undemocratic EU laws and open door immigration, it’s as simple as that.
By 'undemocratic EU laws', are you reffering to the laws which our democratically elected ministers and MEPs decide, vote, and ratify? The laws which we have voted 'no' for just 2% of EU legislation? Are you sure you're not mistaking it for the laws made in the UK which must pass through the House of Lords which welcomes hundreds of unelected peers... and fucking hereditary peers??
And by 'open door immigration', are you referring to its strictly controlled requirements of having a job, have sufficient resources for themselves and their family, not being a burden on the social assstance system, and have comprehensive sickness insurance cover in the country. ^[Article 7 of the Official Journal of the EU]. If you don't think it's been enforced well enough, it's on our government. Or have people 'had enough of the open door immigration' whereby EU citizens make up just 5% of our population but 10% of our doctors?
Brainwashed by the rags...
Brexit made this unwinnable for Labour and I believe that was the plan. It really isn't actually about Brexit at all - to the tories - it's about dividing opposition to maintain control no matter what. I would not be surprised if they are for Brexit, but prolonging the actual happening, while saying that they're ready to go whenever, gives them an incredible lead of power.
This guy was the most successful labour leader Britain has ever had , 3 terms in power , a centre left position , not radical politics. and did not want to redistribute wealth. a winning formula .
Lol and your the kind of person who doesn't look deeper at what's really happening. This man crippled a whole region, ultimately leading to Europe's destabilisation. Gutted the working class by opening the doors to unchecked immigration. Selling out to big business and making himself extremely wealthy. All the while concreting the future to make sure labour never gets elected again till they finally get rid of the nonsense they utter and the moron they elect as leaders. Quite frankly I'd be happier if the Labour party get beaten so badly they get destroyed. They have ruined Britain domestically and internationally. Thanks to people like you who voted for them....
And a disgusting war criminal
"Centre left position". You didn't pay attention, did you? His Cabinet was full of hardcore Communists, and he was President of the Fabian Society. Blair had one agenda and that was to become the Life President of the EU. We scuppered that for him when we left that corrupt organisation.
Its lucifer himself
Law T it’s strange, bcuz that’s EXACTLY what the tories are all about, yet labour did it!?
Law T wdym? I hate both tories and labour dw, I’m more of a Nigel farage guy
He wants to come back so badly.
He's far from perfect but speaks SO much sense. Where did these politicians go?
Yep. The decline in leadership quality since his day is so depressing. Went off a cliff really. Though in fairness Blair always was a remarkable political talent, and something of an outlier himself.
@@dreamer2260Apart from Clown Corbyn, and a few of his closest goons & Momentum, they're no where near as bad as the Tories.
@@ChrisPatrick-q6k Oh I totally agree on that don’t get me wrong. I think Labour’s long stretch now out of power also hasn’t offered huge incentives for talent to get involved with the party. Hopefully that will change now with our prospects looking up.
@@dreamer2260 Yup, just got to keep those sneaky self serving 'socialists' at bay. They're actually nothing of the sort, and are deeply unpleasant and divisive people.
this man is a natural and instinctive politician.
Yep. People of his talent come very rarely, especially on the left, sadly. We desperately need someone else of his calibre again, but I don't see anyone rising through the ranks.
He's trying to tell the left why they keep losing and instead of listening they keep going more and more left. As a righty I find it hilarious. Disturbing, but hilarious.
You would think they would get it through their thick minds after losing four elections they would catch on... But they haven't...
I am a centre lefty. Your right they, the far left, don't listen and go even more extreme. Personally I don't find them disturbing because there is no chance they will ever win an election. The extreme far right on the other hand just won an election, now thats really disturbing, scary. Not Boris I don't think he has an ideological bone in his body but some of the others in the back ground. I worry for our country.
@@marcusavanti902 Well you're wrong about that long term, there's a good chance the Conservative party would not have won one single seat had only young voters counted.
@@marcusavanti902 how is the current Conservative party "extreme far right" they have been moving further left since Blair's new labour.
Far right is Gert wilders threatening to burn places of worship down.
@@marcusavanti902 You can vote Communist or Zionist.
That’s right Tony Tell the voters they are wrong, you have learned nothing.
Absolutely, he said new deal vs remain referendum when that is what Corbyn ran on and lost. Completely delusional.
@@Milkyspongeorbyn lost for being completely unsuited. He's a clown in old man's clothes.
Most certainly a criminal....
Roll on the Day of the Rope...
I’ve seen worse than him.
nightbreed REECE In general. I can name four criminals off the top of my head:
Hitler, Stalin, Harvey Weinstein and Saddam Hussein
Also, Blair was a ROCK to us in NI, yes a rock; he did his part in securing peace and suffered many hardships. If he is to be judged, then let him be so in equal measure at the least, let’s try to salvage some good out of his premiership as well, hmmm?
Which law, out of interest?
nightbreed REECE “war crimes” isn’t a law though, is it? It’s like saying the “business broke employment law” (ok which one?)
Which specific war crime is it? Which Geneva convention was broken? Genocide? Practising Perfidy? Child soldiers? Allowing Torture? Taking of Hostages?
If you’re demanding to send someone to jail, at least be a bit specific
this guy covered up cancer clusters near british nuclear power stations ,pure evil
Blair says BREXIT is a mistake....based on his judgement on Iraq weapons of mass destruction.....Now I know he’s 100% wrong about BREXIT!
Actually he never says anything about Brexit. In Blairspeak it's "Bregzit".
Blair can't hear the mandate, the voices in his head are loud and speaking German.
Guy Fawkes Nonsense.
Now this is a politician not a protester masquerading as a politician. He knows what it takes to win and Labour with momentum pulling the strings are a million miles off .
Labour won’t get back into power for another 15 years.......prediction to myself so I can look back at this in years to come.
Bet won...
The numbers aren't that bad for Labour, if Johnson moves the boundaries you can make that bet for a generation and riots by mid 2020s
I’m in the same ball park, thinking 10 to 20 years. Corbyn had done more damage to the Labour Party the a nuclear bomb,
The way things are going with the wild back and forth swings in public sentiment, I give it another 5 years. Or at the very least, back to a hung parliament.
I would tend to agree but politics is mad. I mean look at the UK 10 years ago and compare it to now
I’ve been all around the nation. He says that Labour will do more for the constituencies than the Conservatives. However, for all the Labour constituencies I have been to are a lot poorer and a lot worse than Conservative ones. Most are quite dirty and many are full of unemployed people and it is frankly depressing. Liberal Democratic and Tory constituencies are frankly more well run on the whole
Same story across the planet. Wherever you have progressive politicians in power everything around them starts to regress
@@tcr333 yup
This is the first BBC interviewer I've seen in a long time that isn't rude.
One Scots woman to an ex-PM Scot hoping for an invite to one of his exclusive dinner parties.
She's a Blairite, of course she won't be rude to her hero
Barney Rubble I thought she interviewed him quite thoroughly. What do you think would be gained by being rude ?
She usually is. Strangely this is the first time she should have been rude
@@mrswinkyuk I try to keep away from the BBC now. It's too bias for me and it doesn't make any attempt to cover my personal reality.
It was so painful to watch Labour die in the last general election. The party has drank deep from the poisoned chalice of identity politics, and abandoned the working class.
You reap what you sow.
I hope the party can turn things around, and get back to its core voters. Otherwise it is a dead party.
Blame Lord Neil Kinnock
@Ashley Cook Corbyn is a SJW, not a Labour MP. Real Labour died with Kinnock
@Tonka Ball Tony Benn, Dennis Skinner, and George Galloway were the last true Labour MPs.
'I'm an American, so maybe I'm missing something, but the description of this video states that Blair was Labour's last prime minister and that doesn't seem quite right. I mean did that whole Gordon Brown thing not happen or...
Brown wasn't elected he just became Labour leader when Blair resigned so he just finished Blairs 'term' but then lost the election - he is similar to President Ford in that he had the job but wasn't elected
He was the last Labour leader to win a general election. And the only one to do so since 1974 in fact
Yes, it should really say Labour's last elected prime minister.
Waffle about Iraq all you want but this man is a cut above anything we’ve got today and the best PM since the 40’s
So what yo are saying is, to coin a phrase, Labour have neither the people or the policies to be re-elected any time soon.
In a single word, yes ...
I am -- sadly -- old enough to remember both Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock, and the battles they had with the 'looney left', as personified, in particular, by Derek Hatton. The result was the 1987 GE, which, effectively, locked Labour out for the next decade, despite even the best efforts of John Smith, arguably the Labour Party's best leader since Clement Attlee. Had he not tragically died in 1994, from a massive heart attack, there was a chance he may have been PM in 1997 ...
But to return to the original question, it looks like the latter day version of the 'Militant Tendency' has taken over almost the entire Labour Party. Those MPs, on the right of the party, were, and still are, dismissed as 'traitors' of, and to, Jeremy Corbyn, despite their repeated warnings that he was a severe liability, not least due to him calling Hamas and Hezbollah as 'friends'; those of a certain age, recalling Gerald Kaufmann's infamous 'longest suicide note in history' probably felt the same, again, about the last party manifesto.
So no doubt many in the PLP expected to lose. But not by as much; what has been oh so neatly brushed under the rug is that a longstanding MP, whom had held his seat for 49 years, and would have been named Father of the House, by dint of being the longest serving MP, lost his seat by a considerable majority. Ousting a MP who has represented his constituency for 49 straight nears was no easy thing, and a utter shock to me.
But, now the dust has settled, it was symptomatic of the utter distrust that even traditional, working class (read: Labour voting) constituencies had for the current leadership. And as loathed as I am to say this, the only way Labour will ever win another election, is if another moderate, like either a John Smith, or, -- gag -- Tony Blair is elected Leader.
In this, Tony Blair is, regrettably, correct: if Momentum/Far Left, stays in charge of the Labour Party, although people will still vote for them, the share of that the Party current has, will mostly likely crash, given enough time. I doubt it will drop as low as where the Lib Dems current are, at about 11-12%, but who knows ... since no one saw Dennis Skinner losing his seat, all bets are off ...
Don’t be sad! So am I - old enough to remember what you remember that is. It seems the Labour Party we knew is no more and perhaps that is because the needs/aspirations of the majority of working people have changed.
In fact the current Labour Party seem intent on fighting a 1950s style class war, which is daft given the standard if living that most working people have now. Income inequality becomes less of a problem when people feel deprived if they don’t own an iPhone. Which of course is not to say that poverty does not exist, only that real not relative poverty is small and a political movement will not gain enough momentum (sorry) if it relies on votes from such a small percentage of society.
I understand that it is tempting to hanker after times when societies problems seemed simpler - the wicked bosses and the downtrodden workers represented by the forthright and honest trades unions, who actually were not and are not so forthright and honest ( Do you remember the film ‘I’m All Right Jack’ staring Peter Sellers?)
Anyway my point is that we need an opposition, a relevant opposition that represents the interests of working people. The trick will be to identify and articulate exactly what those interests are or at least provides a more socially cohesive vision of how our society could be run.
Without a massive blunder by the Tories I see little chance of a Labour Govt for at least 10 years which gives plenty of time for policy development and good people to rise through the ranks replacing the ‘absolute shower’ (Terry Thomas quote from ‘I’m All Right Jack’) that are in place now.
You will have notice that I have not suggested any role for Tony Blair. Personally, I think he made good and bad decisions as PM, was deceived by G W Bush, felt he couldn’t admit to error and then sold out to globalist interests. He is just not likeable, is absolutely toxic to many voters and would be the kiss of death to Labour.
So what he's taken from this that the British people shouldn't have been allowed a say on the matter, how predictable!
@Andrew Battersby see, what you guys haven't been told in the UK is that there's EU elections taking place every few years. You elected fucking FARAGE to the EU Parliament instead of sensible politicians who would push for policies to benefit your country
Because it was not on the agenda, only the Conservative party agenda. DC never thought he would lose, that’s why he resigned. Coward.
@@laurencelong In 1973 I voted for a TRADE Agreement ONLY with 6 AFFluent Countrues.
NOT to be part of some bureaucratic European Project...
@@laurencelong Time will tell Laurence....:)
I'd trust Blair as much as I'd trust Jimmy Savil , but for different reasons!
Orson Kaart the reasons arent too far apart
He was so on the ball over Brexit and how in time people would see how disastrous it was
I remember in a seminar we went over peoples legacies . It's funny how Blair is only known for the Iraq shit when he done plenty of good shit like the belfast agreement
It's not a coincidence. It's been a concerted right-wing media and Tory campaign to try to utterly vilify him, as he's by far the most dangerous political opponent they've had to face in generations. It's just a pity the public has fallen for it in the numbers they have.
Jess Phillips for Labour leader ... now that would be counter-productive.
I seem to remember that Phillips has some somewhat conservative views about white van man
I can't stand the woman, but in all honesty, she might be the best of a bad bunch. I would prefer Lisa Nandy.
Theres a video on youtube with her and Jacob RM in Somerset exchanging dialogue. What comes out of that womens mouth is disgusting.
She said that she accepts Jeremy Corbyn as her leader even though he's a WHITE MAN!!
And then she goes on to say "As a feminist... if it's declared that two men have won the leadership and deputy leadership, whether they're great, whether they're brilliant, I will feel that the Labour Party is less for me."
Where does such thinking come from??... it's so far from the typical brit in the UK.
I'm an iraqi born man who came to the UK in 1999 and love this country. I cant believe English people dont retaliate enough to such nonsense. Even Jacob RM didn't criticise her for such awful prejudice thinking. Good look to the labour party with such radical left wih ideology. I prefer to go conservative.
@@Treckorz I've seen that!!
Keir Starmer seems the most competent, he just doesn't have much charisma
Under par performance by the interviewer. Weak questions. Blair is a class act. I think there could be a route back for him to front line politics.
She is awful, that nasal whine gets on my wick.
I'd love that. Boris would destroy him in their very first Commons encounter.
@@andyq752 I don't think so. Have you even seen Boris debate or even speak?
@slothkingn1 It's only day one . He'll do what he's told to do . Unless you think he's really in charge , he's a puppet , well a muppet .Only puppets can win .
@slothkingn1 I certainly hope he never is , I just think he'll go where the yanks go .
Well, I like him and think he’s a brilliant thinker and communicator. His analysis is spot-on.
Completely agree. Ignore the rabid haters. Most of them have had their hate drilled into them by the Tory press.
He rightly Cained Clown Corbyn
Boris won because of Dominic Cummings. Blair won because of Alistair Campbell and Peter Mandelson.
Conclusion: you can win by a landslide if you have a supervillain and mastermind criminal in your corner
No, Boris won because of Corbyn.
More salty snowflake tears. Keep 'em coming. 😭😭🤣😂🤣😂
Scott Adams (Dilbert cartoonist)'s theory - elections are won by tall people with the best hair and a team of clever people who are good at manipulating public opinion. On balance he reckoned it was a good thing too!
Tony Blair is all about power, he represents EU interests over UK people every time.
George Laird , nothing wrong with the argument , he laid out here .
And Bojo represents US interests over UK people every time, too. Lets face it, does anyone give a fuck about us anymore?
Ask him what happened to dr David Kelly and and mr Robin cook ... The timing of the death seem very convenient
Robin Cook died of a heart attack on a Scottish mountain. If you knew him, that would not have surprised you. Don’t spread stupid conspiracy theories
Conjecture. No proof.
@@steffanhoffmann8937 kelly death was a little odd,
@@sisiphas and kellys?
He was most likely murdered.
Somebody once said "Tony Blair would never vote for the British people".
lewisner and that’s not wrong
BEST PM EVER!! LOVE U TONY!!
Is that why so many people hate him and would like to see him executed?
Blimey.! Thirsty Kirsty cares what gender the next labour leader is. 🙃
Blair just wants someone Corrupt.
"Brexit general election" or "defeat of an ideology"? Choose one, Tony.
Why? Voter's got to kill two birds with one stone
She's taken off her glasses 3 times in the first minute-and-a-half. For pity's sake! Do you want to wear them or not? Are they the wrong prescription or something? Very concerning.