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6th May 2010
LEADING THE FUTURE?
For some time I’ve been meaning to replace the previous banner. So, I have adapted this one from the original which was used for Mr Blair’s recent speaking engagements in Malaysia. If anyone has any objection to this, I’ll remove it of course.
It may well be that Mr Blair too will not be exactly excited about the implication behind the thought.
Tony Blair is 57 today, 6th May, the day of the 2010 general election. A big day for him. Perhaps bigger still for Labour.
Who’d want to lead the British public right now, anyway!?
Personally I’m disillusioned …
… with the voters.
A video of this historic landslide night (apologies for the quality)
UK General Election 1997 – Election Night Results Aftermath Report
In 1997 Labour ended 18 years in the political wilderness in spectacular style.
The party returned to power with a parliamentary landslide, winning the biggest majority held by any government since 1935.
Tony Blair’s New Labour had gained a staggering 179-seat overall majority in the Commons as the Conservatives were tossed aside by the voters.
The election also saw the Liberal Democrats put in a remarkable performance, more than doubling their number of MPs despite taking a reduced share of the vote compared with 1992.
In the election’s aftermath, commentators speculated whether it was at all possible for the Conservatives to overturn such a huge majority in a single election.
UK General Election 1997 – Tony Blair’s Victory Speech
“New Labour” won a landslide victory in the 1997 general election, ending 18 years of Conservative Party government, with the heaviest Conservative defeat since 1832.
“A new dawn has broken, has it not?”
Talking about a new dawn –
Happy Birthday, Mr Blair.
DENSHAW, UNITED KINGDOM - May 04: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is given a cake by Alex Haigh, watched by Phil Woolas (left), the Labour candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth, during a visit to the Rams Head Inn on May 4th in Denshaw, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dave Thompson/WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Hopefully, after the votes are in, you won’t find your party splitting into 57 varieties of Labour supporters. If so, it’s just as well you have one or two things to be getting on with – Tony Blair Office website.
[Pictures from Daylife]
Here at Oliver Kamm’s – a nice little accolade for fellow-Blairite, John Rentoul.
From Rentoul’s, aka Just about the Last Blairite Columnist in Britain:
“Proud to step forward to receive the above accolade from Alex Massie, who blogs for The Spectator here. He has awarded me the title of JALBCB in his blog guide to the British election for New Republic and National Public Radio in the US.”
Perhaps I should award my little self this title – TFALLAMTBBB – since no-one else has. (Answers not on a postcard please.)
“It’s also possible that as early as Friday, Cameron will take the keys to London’s No. 10 Downing Street after ousting the 59-year-old Brown.
If Cameron defied the predictions of almost every opinion poll and won outright with a single-digit majority, it would be in stark contrast to Blair’s landslide 1997 victory for Labour. Blair won a total of 418 seats, his party’s largest number ever; a party needs 326 seats to command a parliamentary majority.
Polls late Tuesday showed Britain on course for a hung Parliament.”
Good God! 418 SEATS! I’d forgotten just how many.
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Tony Blair 