Her Ingracious Tory Majesty The Queen, on her 1st visit to Ireland, thanks Tony Blair

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17th May 2011

HAS THE QUEEN THANKED BLAIR?

No, not quite. The Queen has NOT actually thanked Tony Blair, as far as I know.  She is supposed to be apolitical; supposed to be.

On her historical visit to Ireland tomorrow, a visit not one of her predecessors in a century has been able to make due to over two centuries of unrest and conflict in Ireland & Northern Ireland, the best we can hope for is that in a casual chat with someone she meets in Ireland she may allow a nod to Blair – the man who history will show brought peace to that blighted isle after decades, indeed centuries of turmoil which culminated in the recent, bloody Troubles. The Troubles ended after the Good Friday Agreement signed by Tony Blair in April 1998, less than a year after Tony Blair’s 1997 election landslide in Britain.

Blair:  “A day like today is not a day for soundbites, really. But I feel the hand of history upon our shoulders. I really do.”
Shortly before the Good Friday agreement, April 1998. [More Blair quotes here]

Of all Blair’s achievements in office, some controversial, the settlement in Northern Ireland is almost universally and inarguably – certainly now, in his lifetime – seen as his greatest success. In years to come another decision of Blair’s, Iraq, may be seen as even more of an historically significant achievement.

Perhaps it is too much to expect a mention of Tony Blair’s achievements from the monarchy. They do their politicking negatively, quietly.  But Blair’s work in Northern Ireland/Ireland does not seem to have registered with the Glorious BBC either.

BOMB ALERT IN LONDON FROM IRISH DISSIDENTS

For the first time in TEN years British authorities received, yesterday, an anonymous phone call threatening a bomb in London. It contained recognised Irish dissidents’ code, and the police and government took it seriously. This was clearly linked to the Queen’s impending visit to Ireland.

SEND HER VICTORIOUS

The visit of the Queen to Ireland is the first visit she has ever made to Ireland. In fact it is the first by ANY British monarch in 100 long years. The last monarch to visit was the Queen’s grandfather George V in 1911. And at that time Ireland was still under British rule and would remain so for another 11 years.

King George V and Queen Mary, July 1911, last visit by a British monarch to Ireland. They were accompanied by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) and Mary, the Princess Royal.

More pictures here at RTE Ireland News

In the reign of our present Queen, approaching 60 years (since Feb 1952, which was more than a year before Tony Blair was born) Queen Elizabeth II (Wikipedia) has visited over 130 countries. But NEVER our nearest neighbour, Ireland. A land with whom we even share a land border -  Northern Ireland.

"Thank you, Mr Blair. If it wasn't for your efforts we still would not have peace in Northern Ireland and Ireland"

WHY NOW?

She is only able to visit Ireland now due to the determined and unstinting efforts over ten years (1997-2007) of one man. The same man she “forgot” to invite or to remind others to invite to her grandson’s wedding -

TONY BLAIR

I’ll say that again for the short of memory and hard of understanding -

TONY BLAIR

From having been furious about the lost-in-the-post wedding invitation, to feeling miffed that the present PM is tagging along with Her Majesty for the ride and reflected glory, my anger was compounded by the BBC’s report on this last night.

Not once in Alan Little’s BBC report was the name of our high-achieving former Prime Minister mentioned by the journalist. It was as though Tony Blair had never existed. In fact it got me wondering if Tony Blair had been a figment of my imagination!

There was another prime minister who was mentioned in the newscast, though. So clearly the BBC are not against mentioning all former prime ministers.  Oh, no. Just as the monarchy are not against inviting all former prime ministers to a small family occasion, broadcast to millions worldwide.

John Major, former Tory PM, who is remembered for an affair with a minister and this cartoon by Steve Bell

John Major.

Yes, John Major actually spoke on the BBC TV news on this momentous and historical visit.

The “grey man” who left us little than the memory of his affair with Edwina Curry, a cartoon of his underpants over his trousers and his landslide defeat at Blair’s hands  in 1997 – the worst ever defeat for the Conservatives since 1906.

John Major had an affair with Edwina Curry, another Conservative MP. Both were married at the time.

Yes, Major did do work on the Northern Ireland issues – far more than any of Thatcher or any in her government. But he was not the man who brought together arch enemies Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness, after the settlement known as The Chuckle Brothers. That was due to Blair’s work. Not Major’s. Nor the Queen’s.

He was not the man who spend 40% of his time in one year working on the issue, as Blair did on first coming to office.

So – furious? You bet I am.

You won’t persuade me that the BBC is not biased against Tony Blair. Or that the Monarchy is anything other than the Palace’s Conservative Garden Party.

But on the Beeb’s news there was a few moments’ input from a man who DOES know -

BERTIE AHERN

One man who DOES now that Blair deserves a mention – far more than a mention – he deserves a medal was Bertie Ahern.  He was interviewed by Little and at his own volition he mentioned the work he and Tony Blair had done to bring decades of conflict to an end. That mention went unremarked by Little, and there was not one supportive follow-up word of recognition from the BBC journalists either reporting or linking this clip.

Disgraceful.

Independent:  11th May, 2007 as Blair announced his resignation date. (1997-2007 – The Legacy of Tony Blair, including his speech to his constituency party, Sedgefield)

Excerpt from Independent article:

The Labour MP Frank Field said he was “saddened” by Mr Blair’s resignation. He told GMTV’s Sunday programme: “We’re divorcing the person who’s been most successful in winning us elections and doing it in almost a clinical fashion.” He added: “My guess is as we never, ever, ever produced anybody like him to win elections, in 18 months time we may be looking back to this week and thinking, ‘Wow! How extraordinary that we shoe-horned him out in this fashion!’”

How extraordinary indeed.  And how disgraceful that we have a press and a monarchy both still bent on his destruction.

They won’t destroy him no matter how hard they try.

None of them, your inGraciousMajesty.

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I am staggered by all the hate directed towards our former Prime Minister. I believe that Tony Blair made the Iraq decision in good faith and is most certainly NOT a war criminal. If anyone should be tried at the Hague it should be those in the media for totally misrepresenting the information and facts. The media are to blame for fuelling this hatred as it is purely driven by them. (UK)

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The greatest and most successful leader the Labour Party has ever had with the courage to fight the Islamist terrorists who really would like to kill us all, and you never hear a good word about him. The herd of independent minds, commentators, activists etc who have never had to make a difficult decision in their lives drown out all debate with their inane chants of war crimes and blood on his hands. Defend him at every chance. I just wish more people would do it. (Glasgow, UK)

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Tags: labour, britain, john major, Bertie Ahern, Northern Ireland, the queen, Tony Blair, BBC, Elizabeth II, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Ireland visit, firts since 1911, Blair hand of history, Edwina Curry