In 1987 Tony Blair predicted the 2008 Economic Crash (video)

• Current Latest Page
• All Contents of Site – Index
• New blog – The Feral Press
• Sign the Ban Blair-Baiting petition here

Comment at end

Or – Tweet this post

5th June 2011

Video below of Tony Blair, the Chancellor-To- Be(?)  – on the “excesses of the free market” –

Quote:  (35 seconds in) “But I think the real problem that we’re left with is that we now have an economy that is so locked into international trading, so dependent on anything that happens in Wall Street then reverberates right round the world. Now the key lesson that we’ve got to take out of this is the necessity for governments of any political colour to work together in order to stop the excesses of the free market because that’s what really been shown over the last couple of days.”

I came to this via a Twitter link from The Jogger.  The 34 year-old Tony Blair was being interviewed by the BBC’s Michael Buerk after the 1987 stock market collapse.

Once you’ve got over how young Tony Blair looks, listen to what he said 24 years ago in 1987, when he was Labour’s City Affairs spokesman. Bear in mind that until John Smith died in 1994 Tony Blair always expected to become Chancellor of the Exchequer if and when Labour replaced the Conservatives in government. Gordon Brown had always been seen as the leader-in-waiting.

BBC one o’clock news 20th October 1987 interview with Tony Blair

Note: The British Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1984 was Nigel Lawson (June 11 1983 to 26 Oct 1989 when he resigned following growing disparity between himself and then PM Margaret Thatcher.) See Lawson sparks reshuffle, co-written, interestingly, by CHRIS HUHNE.

Excerpt:

Mr Lawson told Mrs Thatcher in his resignation letter that the successful conduct of economic policy was only possible ‘if there is, and is seen to be, full agreement’ between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.

Recent events confirmed that this requirement could not be satisfied ‘so long as Alan Walters remains your personal economic adviser’.

This report has many obvious later resonances, including the Blair & Brown relationship, and their advisers’ input.

Some might marvel that Messrs Blair & Brown managed to co-exist for so long under conditions of varying and various disagreements.  Some might wonder if Mr Blair HAD become Chancellor instead of Prime Minister would things have turned out differently, economically.  Personally, I think we would still have had the crash in the UK, for the reasons Tony Blair alluded to in the interview. Partly because the international monetary system has its own momentum. Also because in office politicians alter opinions in relation to facts. Apart from that, with Brown as PM in 1997, we might well have found that Labour served only one term, ending in 2001.

SOME COMMENTS FROM YOUTUBE

There are relatively few commenters that I agree with on the man I consider to have been probably the greatest Labour PM Britain has ever had, but these at the YouTube video site sound sensible.

• The beginning of the best thing that happened to Britain
• Shame Gordon didn’t listen to him more.
• A 34-year-old who looked more like a 24-year-old. He aged very quickly post-1997.
• So what’s your alternative to ‘these politicians’ then sweetypie000? I presume you are struggling financially and blame politicians for this, but your argument is ridiculous. How much help do you think you’d get if you didn’t pay your taxes? Funny how individuals become collectivists in recessions! “It was the fault of The Government”. You’re a joke if you can only oppose and insult and not propose an alternative…either that or you’re a misanthropist.

RELATED

Michael Buerk – On this day (Correspondents)

Harry Langford at Twitter has a blog on the future for Labour.  Since foolishly ditching Labour’s record-breaking winner Tony Blair, an error compounded and highlighted by the voters ditching of Gordon Brown the Labour party, the Labour party is back in dilemma mode. Left/Right/Centre? Which direction?

• On the New Labour side we have this from Harry Langford – People’s Platform: A Vision for Labour?
• On the Back to the Future, Old Labour side there is this from Owen jones – The Blairite ultras would lead Labour to surrender. They must be stopped

I know I am a Blairite, if one can be described as such without being a member of Labour – (oh yes, one can!) – but I note the tone in the titles taken by the anti-Blairites compared to that taken by the Blairites.

Anti-Blairites = EXCLUSIVE and EXCLUDING. Blairites = OPEN & INCLUSIVE.

Just saying.

Back to top

Click to Buy Tony Blair’s ‘A Journey’

_______________

Sign the Ban Blair-Baiting petition here

Recent comments:

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)

__________

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)

__________

Blair was the greatest Labour Prime Minister. It is a disgrace that the party has turned away from his legacy. Shame on Ed Miliband and his so-called ‘new generation’.

---

Tags: 1984, 1987, 2008 economic crash, Alan Walters, BBC, Blairites, Chancellor of the Exchequer, City Affairs Spokesmann, Gordon Brown, Harry Langford, history, labour party, Labour's future, Margaret Thatcher, Michael Buerk, Nigel Lawson, Owen Jones, predicted by Tony Blair, Tony Blair, twitter, Wall Street