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“Should I stay or Should I Go?” – Cleverly done You Tube video, edited from last year’s Manchester Labour Party Conference (Sep 2006), after the “coup”. Ignore the David Cameron picture at the beginning; he’s only the understudy. Click on the video to view it.
Answer, Mr Blair – STAY!
Thursday 10th May, 2007
GOING, GOING … NOT QUITE GONE
So there we have it then – it’s the 27th June. The last day we can call Tony Blair OUR Prime Minister. In six weeks we’ll be back to grey, boring old politics. Click here to watch the 18 minute BBC video of his speech at Sedgefield.
Wednesday 9th May, 2007
BLAIR WATCHING
By tomorrow lunch time we should know when the PM is bowing out of the leadership of this country and getting on with the rest of his life. We’ll know exactly when we will have a new prime minister and whether Sedgefield and the Labour party will face a by-election soon. Then, the country opens a new chapter in the book of New Labour, let us be in no doubt, when as seems very likely, Gordon Brown takes over in the hot seat. Some might say, “can’t wait”. Me? I can wait.
27th April, 2007
Update:
- “I wouldn’t hold your breath on that …”, says PM
Asked in Poland if he would declare his date of departure BEFORE the polls of next Thursday, Tony Blair said, ” Well you know I never discuss these issues at all, but I wouldn’t hold your breath on that particular story.” View Mr Blair
MayDay! – for Labour – Is it to be ‘Goodbye Mr Blair’ on Tuesday 1st May?
Will Tony Blair stand down on Tuesday 1st May, exactly 10 years after he first became Prime Minister? The talk is that by so doing he can leave Labour to recover in the polls in the full knowledge than he will be out of the hot seat. Talking about his departure would also distract us all from the results of the locals, since they are not expected to be good even without Blair. On the other hand, the next Prime Minister just happens to be likely to be the unpopular Mr Brown. The present PM would be handing a poisoned chalice to – guess who? Whose fault then a bad election result? Hard choice, Mr Blair.
24th April, 2007
He STILL hasn’t said, but …
It’s likely to be the 9th or 10th of May when the prime minister announces his retirement. This will be a day (or two) after Mr Blair attends the opening of the new Northern Ireland Assembly on 8th May, for which settlement the present PM is owed a lot of credit. At last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament the DUP leader, Ian Paisley, insisted that as the British Prime Minister Mr Blair should be there.
So the 9th will be the earliest date. Then there will be a six week leadership campaign or shoo-in (Scottish for ‘A Gordon For Me’ ). By the end of June Mr Blair will be political history. Or will he?
Don’t hold your breath …
Updated 1st April, 2007
BLAIR STANDS DOWN!
Remember the date ;0)
The announcement of the PM’s departure date is awaited with bated breath by many, those who want him to stay and presumably those who don’t, so I’m updating this page today April 1st.
To be frank, the Prime Minister has never said WHEN EXACTLY he would stand down and still hasn’t to this day.
Apart from the small matter of fully endorsing Brown’s succession he has only this card to play in his own short-term political future. So why not keep it close to his chest?
Here’s my take on it all:
Iraq, his public sector changes, Labour Left’s unease, ‘trust’, cash-for-honours and the perception of his health concerns.
On Iraq, well, the public and the party are unhappy at the growing death toll and that it hasn’t yet been settled.
Public health and education changes are too much too soon for some, though many of these changes would have happened anyway, if perhaps more slowly without Blair.
The Left in his party have never taken to him and want a return to the old days of public services. Vain hope, but there you are.
Trust in Tony Blair personally and in Labour and the government has taken a hammering, perhaps unjustifiably. But various issues have combined to lead to the chant of “they’re all the same – rotten!” Not that that’s anything new. The last time people seemed to trust politicians was, er, let me think – oh yes, May 1997.
Cash-for-honours has cast a huge shadow over Downing Street and the long wait for conclusion has been a major concern to the country, as well as to those in the spotlight.
- Labour’s Election Wins Under Blair:
1st May, 1997
7th June, 2001
5th May, 2005
Each one of these elections was historical in its own way. We should never forget that.
April 23, 2008 at 4:34 pm |
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