Tony blair

I never really saw the point of the Chilcot Inquiry and nothing that has happened in the years since it first sat has persuaded me I was wrong to think it liable to prove a waste of time, effort and money. Dear old Peter Oborne pops up in today’s Telegraph to confirm the good sense of these suspicions. Chilcot, you see, is most unlikely to satisfy Tony Blair’s critics, far less provide the “smoking gun” proving that the Iraq War was a stitched-up, born-again conspiracy promoted by George W Bush and eagerly, even slavishly, supported by Anthony Charles Lynton Blair. This is not an argument about truth. If Chilcot fails

Where there has been discord, Mrs Thatcher’s funeral brought harmony. From my seat in the gods at St. Paul’s, I watched as Westminster’s lesser mortals gathered in front of the altar to shoot the breeze in the hour before Lady Thatcher’s coffin arrived. Gordon and Sarah Brown were first to arrive. They plonked themselves down, but soon jumped up to chat to a passer-by. Quick as a flash, Ed Miliband and his wife Justine pinched the Browns’ vacated chairs. Time rolled by, and Miliband found it impossible to shake the shadow of his old master as he walked around the nave. How’s that for art imitating life? The pews soon

Tony Blair asked Labour seven awkward questions this week, ranging from issues that everyone’s talking about to rather more quirky ones that the former Prime Minister would like everyone to talk about, like using advances in DNA to fight crime. It’s the mid-term, when parties start to wonder what they can tell voters they stand for in the next general election, what problems they believe the country is facing, and, more importantly, whether they think they’ve got a hope of solving them. I’ve spent most of today talking to Tory MPs about what they think the seven awkward questions for their own party might be, and here they are, in

Nothing like a former PM poking their nose into your business, eh? John Major experienced what Daniel Finkelstein this week delicately described as ‘sub-optimal’ behaviour from Margaret Thatcher when he was in office, and today Ed Miliband has his own helpful little missive from his own former leader, telling him that if only he were just like Tony Blair, then everything would be OK. Blair’s piece in the New Statesman isn’t surprising in many ways as it articulates the former Prime Minister’s firm belief that his party must engage with the centre of politics as it is at the moment, rather than trying to move that centre in the direction

Several Labour MPs have expressed their disapproval of George Osborne’s comments about the taxpayer funding Mick Philpott’s lifestyle. For example, Andy McDonald, MP for Middlesbrough, said that welfare is a ‘completely separate discussion, it should not be had in the context of the most appalling crime of a father killing his six children. It just demonstrates how out of touch George Osborne is. He may as well make adverse comments about the entire population of a town or a religion, it’s absolute nonsense.’ The obvious problem with this is that Osborne acknowledged that they were separate issues. He said that the Philpotts’ crimes were their own responsibility, but their lifestyle, as

Tony Blair usually grows rather awkward when asked about the current direction of the Labour party under Ed Miliband. Clearly afraid of appearing a backseat driver, the former Prime Minister tries as hard as he can to avoid delivering any kind of verdict, other than a vaguely supportive bundle of words. He certainly did the latter in his interview on Marr this morning, but Blair also made some important points about how crucial this year will be for Labour. He said: ‘So I understand the Labour party message. And by the way, what Ed’s trying to do is tougher than what I had to do. When I became Labour leader,

Tony Blair gave a speech today in which he proposed a ‘Grand Bargain’ to revive the European Union. One of the proposals in this grand bargain is – and Blair is clearly speaking entirely without self-interest – that there be an elected president of the European Commission or European Council. The former Prime Minister told the Council for the Future of Europe in Berlin: ‘Let me make a few quick reflections. A Europe-wide election for the Presidency of the Commission or Council is the most direct way to involve the public. An election for a big post held by one person – this people can understand. The problem with the

Under the alias ‘Director General of the Russell Group’, a certain Dr Wendy Piatt has slammed the government’s policy on student visas. In a quote to the Independent, she warns: ‘as ministers crack down on abuse of the system, they must be careful about the messages they send to the world’s best and brightest students.’ Surely this cannot be the same Dr Piatt who rose through the ranks of Tony Blair’s favourite think tank, IPPR, before being seconded to the Labour team at the Department of Education in 2002? The same Dr Piatt who later became a senior Downing Street aide under the Labour government? We should be told! Her Labour links do not

Around the time that speculation was mounting about Tony Blair’s possible return to British politics last month, I went to a public discussion about faith and public life by the man himself and Rowan Williams in which Charles Moore was both participant — or should I say, combatant — and moderator. It was, as you’d expect, a lively affair in which the two Catholic converts took radically dissimilar views on most things, and Islam in particular. In retrospect, one of the remarks that strikes me as remarkable was Mr Blair’s throwaway contention that inter-faith discussion should be conducted on terms agreeable to the faiths in question. The implication was, though

Far from being upset about Archbishop Desmond Tutu repeating something he first said nine years ago, Tony Blair should be proud of his achievements in Iraq. This aspect of Blair’s legacy was raised again over the weekend when Tutu pulled out of an event where he was due to share a stage with the former Prime Minister. It is curious that while Tutu refused to associate with Blair he has happily endorsed the ‘Global March to Jerusalem’. Its members include Ahmed Abo Halabiya who is part of the Hamas administration in Gaza. During a speech he told followers: ‘Have no mercy on the Jews, no matter where they are, in

The Red Fort in Soho went multi-coloured last night as politcos from across the spectrum gathered to celebrate Keith Vaz’s 25th year in Parliament. Top of the a-list was Tony Blair, fresh from lunch at Downing Street with the Queen. No sign of his wife, again, but his son Euan was pressing the flesh. If the rumours that he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps are true, then this was the perfect event for him. Disgraced Phil Woolas was loitering in the shadows. The sacked MP for Oldham turned lobbyist was making a rare public appearance. But it was the presence of Home Secretary Theresa May which got tongues

It may be unpopular to say, but there is reason to be charitable to Tony Blair and his latest warnings about Islamist extremism. The former Prime Minister gave afascinating interview to Charles Moore in yesterday’s Telegraph where, inter alia, he talks about the challenge of militant Islam. ‘The West is asleep on this issue,’ he tells Moore. Blair has been more vocal and unequivocal on the issue than almost any other politician in recent years. He notes that the success of his Africa Governance Initiative faces ‘this threat above all others’. Failed states in the Horn of Africa have accentuated this, while one of the unintended consequences of the Libyan revolution

What is it, do you suppose, that Tony Blair has learned in the five years since he ceased to be Prime Minister that would make him a better Prime Minister now? That the Brazilians speak Portuguese, perhaps — this was a fact apparently unknown to him hitherto. What else? Blair has done an interview with Andrew Marr during which he said he would very much like another crack at leading our country, and that the last five years had been very useful and he’d learned lots of stuff which would enable him to do the job better. He also doled out the usual advice to the current Labour leader Ed

A few years back the radio disc jockey John Peel died. Some public sorrow was expressed and soon Tony Blair issued a press release explaining his personal sadness. A little while later someone else who was popular died and the same thing happened. A few days later still and hundreds of thousands of people were killed and many more made homeless by a Tsunami out East. For several hours Blair was silent. Some media jumped on this and whipped up public expressions of shock. ‘Why has our Prime Minister not expressed sadness about the Tsunami deaths?’ and so on. I don’t know why Blair took a few more hours than

Michael Gove has caused a storm this morning, with his proposal to split GCSEs. The Mail has the scoop, but, essentially, this is in a bid to improve standards — Gove plans to replace GSCEs in maths, English and the three sciences, which will be awarded separately rather than as a block, with something similar to the old O-level; he also want more rigorous exams in history, geography and modern languages. Modules are also to be a thing of the past; Gove’s curriculum will be a test of memory as well as a test of understanding. Courses may be completed in 2 years or 3 years (ie, aged 17), depending