Both UK parties are peddling fantasies, says former PM Blair

[webfact]

Both UK parties are peddling fantasies, says former PM Blair

 

Britain's former Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks at the Web Summit, in Lisbon, Portugal, November 6, 2019. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/Files

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn are peddling fantasies before a Dec. 12 election, former British leader Tony Blair will say on Monday, offering his support to "mainstream" politicians.

 

At a newsmaker event at Reuters, Blair will criticise Britain's main parties for offering voters a stark choice, wanting to win "on the basis that whatever your dislike of what they're offering, the alternative is worse".

 

Held after three years of negotiations to leave the European Union since a 2016 referendum, the December election will show how far Brexit has torn traditional political allegiances apart and will test an electorate increasingly tired of voting.

 

Blair, who was prime minister for 10 years until 2007, will say many in Britain are "scratching their heads, changing their minds, floating and unsure" before the election.

 

"The unifying sentiment is a desire, bordering on the febrile, to end the mess, to wake from the nightmare," he will say, according to extracts from his speech.

 

"This desire, though completely understandable, is in danger of leading us into a big mistake; and frankly we cannot afford another of those."

 

Blair will accuse both parties of offering up a fantasy to voters - the Conservatives suggesting they will get Brexit done when the reality is that they will start new talks on a future relationship which "could last for years".

 

Equally, he will say that Labour, under veteran socialist Corbyn, is offering a "revolution". "The problem with revolutions is never how they begin but how they end."

 

He will call for people to look at the election seat-by-seat and back moderate candidates, saying he has been campaigning for such politicians in the Labour Party.

 

"The polls predict a Conservative victory and put the chances of an outright Labour victory as negligible," he will say. "But I wouldn't trust Boris Johnson with a blank cheque."

 

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Jane Merriman)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-25

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[PatOngo]

Who would know more about political fantasies than Tony Blair "Iraq can launch WMD within 45 minutes" yeah, good one Tones!

[Chomper Higgot]

One of these party leaders was unquestionably right when he voted against Blair taking the UK into an American oil war.

 

The other party leader is an inveterate liar.

[stevenl]

Yes, he can and should be criticized for previous actions, but he is undoubtedly correct when he says 'both parties are peddling fantasies'.

[Lungstib]

And there's a man who knows about peddling ideas, the warmonger who became a peace envoy. Shut up Tony, disappear as your disgrace demands.

[OneMoreFarang]

When people read "Blair" then many think about the unjustified Iraq war. I do the same.

But I have to admit I am often surprised about Blair's qualities. I.e. when Thailand was looking for solutions to solve the political crisis a couple of years ago I was surprised about the good advice from Blair (I don't remember the details but it made a lot of sense).

And since then I read a couple of article about him and it seems most of the time he is right.

So yes, his Iraq policy was disastrously, but sometimes it still makes sense to listen to him.

[Enoon]

 

Obviously a total s****** for what he and Bush did to the Middle East, and the consequences it had for the rest of the world.

 

However he's well and truly "off the pitch" now, not looking for votes, and can provide a reasoned, pragmatic, objective view.

 

As do many other "senior politicians", now on the "sidelines".

 

He's right.

 

 

[billd766]

42 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

Obviously a total s****** for what he and Bush did to the Middle East, and the consequences it had for the rest of the world.

 

However he's well and truly "off the pitch" now, not looking for votes, and can provide a reasoned, pragmatic, objective view.

 

As do many other "senior politicians", now on the "sidelines".

 

He's right.

 

 

IMHO, whilst he may be correct, he is angling to get back into politics once again. Personally if he was on fire I would pass by on the other side of the road and head for the nearest gas station to give him some extra assistance.

[evadgib]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

When people read "Blair" then many think about the unjustified Iraq war. I do the same.

But I have to admit I am often surprised about Blair's qualities. I.e. when Thailand was looking for solutions to solve the political crisis a couple of years ago I was surprised about the good advice from Blair (I don't remember the details but it made a lot of sense).

And since then I read a couple of article about him and it seems most of the time he is right.

So yes, his Iraq policy was disastrously, but sometimes it still makes sense to listen to him.

A broken clock is right twice a day.

[bannork]

2 hours ago, evadgib said:

A broken clock is right twice a day.

I'd say Blair is right nearly all the time these days 

[melvinmelvin]

1 hour ago, bannork said:

I'd say Blair is right nearly all the time these days 

 

Blair ain't no bad politician, surely beats current and previous PM hands down

 

[baboon]

7 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Who would know more about political fantasies than Tony Blair "Iraq can launch WMD within 45 minutes" yeah, good one Tones!

The UK has for many years now been USA all the way. We would have been involved in that Iraq fiasco no matter who was in power and no matter what other politicians were saying at the time.

[Pedrogaz]

What a dreadful shameless man Blair is. He should be at the ICC for lying about the need to invade Iraq. Time for him to keep his mouth shut.

[Pedrogaz]

5 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

When people read "Blair" then many think about the unjustified Iraq war. I do the same.

But I have to admit I am often surprised about Blair's qualities. I.e. when Thailand was looking for solutions to solve the political crisis a couple of years ago I was surprised about the good advice from Blair (I don't remember the details but it made a lot of sense).

And since then I read a couple of article about him and it seems most of the time he is right.

So yes, his Iraq policy was disastrously, but sometimes it still makes sense to listen to him.

Yes but he did other dreadful things like starting to privatize the NHS and run it like a business, like doing the same with education and now every school has to have a finance director. Overall he did the country little good at all, and slavishly following Bush into war was simply one more poor decision in a long line of bad decisions. 

[faraday]

7 hours ago, Lungstib said:

And there's a man who knows about peddling ideas, the warmonger who became a peace envoy. Shut up Tony, disappear as your disgrace demands.

And converted to Catholicism, prior to getting the job.

 

Conman.

 

[oldhippy]

16 minutes ago, faraday said:

And converted to Catholicism, prior to getting the job.

 

Conman.

 

What does his choice of whichever religious sect have to do with this?

Unless you mean religious people can never be trusted.

[faraday]

3 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

What does his choice of whichever religious sect have to do with this?

Unless you mean religious people can never be trusted.

His timing.

 

And no, I don't mean that.

[oldhippy]

Just now, faraday said:

His timing.

 

And no, I don't mean that.

sarcasm old chap

 

[melvinmelvin]

35 minutes ago, baboon said:

The UK has for many years now been USA all the way. We would have been involved in that Iraq fiasco no matter who was in power and no matter what other politicians were saying at the time.

 

2nd that,

and you could add that UK is a generally agressive and trigger happy country

she probably suffers from a wave ruling complex

 

and,

if you read some Middle East history from about first WW and up to now you will soon discover

that UK has been kicking muslims around in that area over and over again

 

there is a reason behind UK's standing in that area of the world and it is not due to Blair

 

[billd766]

39 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

Yes but he did other dreadful things like starting to privatize the NHS and run it like a business, like doing the same with education and now every school has to have a finance director. Overall he did the country little good at all, and slavishly following Bush into war was simply one more poor decision in a long line of bad decisions. 

He also was instrumental in supporting frozen pensions all the way up to the ECJ instead of supporting the unfreezing of them.

[Bundooman]

So no different from when you were PM then...…!

[Bundooman]

8 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

One of these party leaders was unquestionably right when he voted against Blair taking the UK into an American oil war.

 

The other party leader is an inveterate liar.

And Corbyn isn't? 

While we're at it - which way did 'the inveterate liar' vote.... or don't you know?

Furthermore - ask Corbyn about anti-Semitism - see what 'truth' you get from him!

[IvorBiggun2]

There's a difference in being Antisemitic and being anti Israel. I don't mind Jews but I dislike Israel. I think the same goes for Corbyn.

[nausea]

8 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

One of these party leaders was unquestionably right when he voted against Blair taking the UK into an American oil war.

I always think of Sartre when I hear quotes like this, he infamously said that the French were responsible for WW2 cos they did nothing to stop it. Guilty as charged, I did nothing to stop the Iraq war.

[melvinmelvin]

1 hour ago, Pedrogaz said:

What a dreadful shameless man Blair is. He should be at the ICC for lying about the need to invade Iraq. Time for him to keep his mouth shut.

 

go read your history books again

UK has been copulating around in the Middle East for many many decades

Blair's doing is a tiny spot on the top of the UK misery in the Middle East

 

[melvinmelvin]

20 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

There's a difference in being Antisemitic and being anti Israel. I don't mind Jews but I dislike Israel. I think the same goes for Corbyn.

 

and the same goes for an awful lot of Arabs

 

[owl sees all]

1 hour ago, oldhippy said:

What does his choice of whichever religious sect have to do with this?

Unless you mean religious people can never be trusted.

If he gets it wrong or lies, he has simply to confess to the priest, and all is well. Ready to go again with a clear conscience.

[melvinmelvin]

8 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

If he gets it wrong or lies, he had simply to tell the priest, and all is well. Ready to go again with a clear conscience.

 

yes,

just like MPs after GEs,

a book full of blank sheets and colour pencils with which they can draw their fantasies

(with total disregard of what was said and done before the GE)

 

[Orton Rd]

went into a second hand book shop when I was home and saw Blair's biog on the top shelf not in the biog section. When I asked why it was up there the owner said people kept taking it out of the biog section and putting it in with the horror books, so he stuck it up out of reach. Nearly bought it to burn as it was only a quid ???? Probably the most hated man in Britain.

[3NUMBAS]

the man who opened the floodgates to mass migration of mostly unskilled EU peasants who wanted a life on bennys and handouts ..millions of them and caused the brexit leave