Why I love Tony

To really give an idea of why I am a fan of Tony Blair, you need to understand what it was like for those of us with a socialist tendency throughout the Thatcher years, or as we like to call it, Tory misrule.
I wasn't brought up particularly left-wing, in fact my parents were members of the liberal party and my sister and I used to go out delivering leaflets with my mother and aunt, this was our family line. When I was old enough to begin to understand political ideas, my friend's father said something to me to the effect that once I really became interested in politics, I would become a socialist, and this, it turned out, was quite correct.
Middle class intellectuals did not flourish under Thatcher. It was a time when greed was publicly sanctioned, when 'upwardly mobile' was the buzz phrase, and it had nothing to do with spirituality. The Anglican Church was referred to as 'The Conservative Party at Prayer'. To my mind this spoke not only about the Church, but about the Tories as well. They were sanctimonious in the extreme. They droned on endlessly and publicly about so called 'Family Values' without ever questionning their own definition of what a family could be. Thatcher's most famous quote was 'There is no such thing as Society, just families and individuals'. It was a time of over-heated interest rates because of the conservative insistence on the rule of market-forces. Nationalised industries such as water, that should have remained under public control, were privatised. The things that we lefties thought should not have been left to people's conscience such as not buying goods from Apartheid South Africa, were, and things that should have been explained as though people were intelligent enough to understand, were simplified and shoved at us. A huge granite headstone awaited any of us who had ever slept with more than one partner whilst the Tory party itelf continued to cavort with its mistresses.
Nigel Lawson's 'summer of discontent' when he slashed income tax resulted in an even more overheated economy and an increase in differentials between rich and poor, the rich got to keep more of what they earned and lending rates went up further.
Thatcher broke the miners, she hobbled the unions and for those of us swimming at the bottom of the middle pond, in the socio-economic terms of the time those with status but not the money, she allowed the press to hound.
Accountability meant blame. It seemed that in every rant of the Tory press, teachers and social workers, those unpleasant reminders of the society that did not exist, were blamed for all the ills of the world. We had the worst contract ever imposed upon us, our working hours had no limit, we were to work 'until the work was done'. The public was encouraged to think of us as a profession who worked from 9 until 15.00 with thirteen weeks holiday a year. We had the National Curriculum thrust upon us as though without it we were incapable of deciding what needed to be taught.
Yet the Tories shot themselves nicely in the foot, they took down their Boudica, their Caesar, and like Caesar, they stabbed her bloodily in the back. Thatcher was the embodiment of conservatism, how could you embrace their vile politics and not believe her to be a god?
The grey man by whom she was replaced, gave a way in to the Labour Party. When Tony Blair's government took power, it was - pun intended - a red letter day. At the time, I would have preferred a more old style socialist, someone with a gritty northern accent, John Prescott of course, but although it was the hour, he was not the person.
Tony Blair's 'New Labour' was heavily criticised for not being socialist enough, but it was what was needed. Tony was our new vicar, Cherie Booth our vicar's wife. She had her own successful career, there has never been a whiff of scandal about either of them, his children were charming and the couple have increased their family whilst in power.
Even had there been scandal it wouldn't have mattered, the Labour Party have never tried to tell us who we can or cannot sleep with. They have created an atmosphere in their party and within the country where women, non-whites and gay and lesbian people are not demonised in the way they were under the conservatives. Again, Blair was criticised for insisting that every list of possible candidates for election must include a woman, but it was a successful strategy, we have more women in Parliament than ever before.
During the Tony years, we have not had to watch interest rates run out of control, social ills, for example fox-hunting, have been dealt with. We have been able to exist in an ethos of socialism.
Although those of us in teaching who had to go through the annoying process of 'proving' we were worth being paid more, to 'Cross the Threshold' we have been listened to, teachers' pay and conditions have been addressed and contracts changed to take out a wide range of responsibilities and tasks.
I see Blair as a Statesman, he comes over well on TV whether talking to the nation or as a representative of it. He doesn't use the famous 'dick waving walk' of Bush for example, and despite the country's partnership with the US over the war in Iraq, he took Bush to task over his refusal to acknowledge the need for imposed environmental targets. He also took on Chirac over the EU budget at a time when Chirac was slinging mud at Britain.
Blair is often blamed for entering a war with the US over oil. I understand and take on board Michael Moore's concerns over Bush's involvement with the Saudis. But I do not personally believe that this was the motivation for the war.
At the moment and sporadically, because he is not very well-behaved, we see the spectacle of Sadaam Hussein being charged with crimes amounting to genocide, destruction of villages of Muslim people not of his own sect, repression, torture, execution of ordinary citizens without trial, the list is endless.
In my opinion, the existence of WMD is moot. I believe that it is possible intelligence was wrong. The fact remains that Sadaam was a global problem that had to be dealt with at some point. He also most certainly had the capacity to build WMD. I feel it is naive to claim that there was no link between Iraq and Osama bin Laden over the 11/09 atrocities. The US -mostly- are damned if they do, damned if they don't. They, and Britain, were criticised for not pursuing Hussein after the Gulf War. They are criticised for doing nothing about any number of outrages throughout the world, or every repressive regime.
I know that conditions in Iraq at the moment are desperate. They were also desperate before for many ordinary people and most particularly women who had no rights. Although what our two countries have done is bloody, there is hope for the future where there was none before.
I do not believe that Blair had even the slightest choice about going to war. If I'm deep down honest, and I almost have to cut my own heart out to type it, I don't think Bush did either. The threat was real and growing. With the US going to war, Britain and Australia could not have just stood on the sidelines waving. What does it mean to live in Freedom if you allow other people to carry on in purgatory?
I know I have probably offended with these thoughts, but I wanted to put down the way I honestly feel.
Since the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair took over the leadership of Britain, it is my perception that it has been a better place to live. Relations with Europe have grown stronger too. But whilst I hated Thatcher's Britain, I have to cut my own heart out a second time to admit that I could not hate Thatcher. I deplored her politics, but she too was a strong and indomitable Stateswoman. When I watch TV5 and see the representatives and leaders of the EU all posing for a photo op, you can pick out a small handful of women, accent colours among the grey suits. If I squint, I can imagine Thatcher in there, and she eclipses the ranks and ranks of men. She did things with an iron fist but that did need to be done, mining was an industry that needed to change, the power of the unions needed to be brought under control. The National Curriculum has had a great many benefits. She did force through Britain's EU budgetary rebate which went some way to deal with the injustice of the Common Agricultural Policy. And she did insist on languages for all because she could see what Britain needed to compete in Europe.
I feel unhappy when I see that Labour might not win another election, there has been a nicer feel in Britain under them. It is a shame that the government always has to be steaming forward all the time, why can we not just be content with a period of consolidation and contemplation. Encourage the arts for a while Tony, and let the country enjoy their time under Labour.