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[D4Danger]

Relative to the Tories? That is hardly a metric that says much. Blair was worse on inequalities than any previous Labour government...

I mean going back to Blair would show a laughable level of desperation...We live in polarising times, Labour aren't going to beat the Tories at their own game twice.

That's exactly why Corbyn won twice. Not because he some great politician but because everyone else ran on the platform of "this guy's a bit of a nutter, right" and instead of agreeing they instead asked "well what makes you different from what we had" and there's no answer. For all the backstabbing and plotting they couldn't even field a proper candidate against him. I mean did anyone watch those debates between Corbyn and Smith? (I doubt it). They're discussing policies and just agreeing with each other. There's nothing anyone else can bring to the table and instead of working on those shared ideas they'd rather piss and moan and sabotage the next election.

people all over the world want something else and as much as you might hate him because you've been told to by the media for the past 12 months at least Labour didn't end up with some nasty cunt. Blair isnt the answer. If this is the choices we have to work with in the next few years I'd much rather support Corbyn and his naive idealism over the current Tory mob.

 

[pswii60]

Could he be elected PM again?

Not sure how it all works.

He could become PM again yes. He'd have to become the leader of a party and lead that party to success in a General Election. But we don't elect PMs.

And it wouldn't surprise me if this is what he wants. His legacy is overshadowed by Iraq, he has a big ego and will have hopes to come back and try and get everyone to forget Iraq ever happened.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

That this is our best case scenario succinctly demonstrates how utterly fucked the western world is at present.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

A source allegedly told the newspaper: “He’s not impressed with Theresa May. He thinks she’s a total lightweight. He thinks Jeremy Corbyn’s a nutter and the Tories are screwing up Brexit. He thinks there’s a massive hole in British politics that he can fill.”

He's right.
Sad thing is I'll take him over what we have now.

 

[a.wd]

2016 can go fuck itself

 

[Salvadora]

UK may be a shitshow at the moment but I'll never accept Tony fucking Blair back in the mix.

The man is a war criminal despite whatever good his government did.

Get the fuck.

 

[MCN]

No. Fuck off, Tony.

 

[dc89]

If he coming back to politics he'll need a party right?

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

Seriously?

Halp. Scotland hurry up and cut ourselves loose.

Hey, he's scottish, he may run up north lol

 

[8bit]

If he coming back to politics he'll need a party right?

The centrists of Labour will join with him, leaving Red Labour with Momentum. Both will remain unable to control a majority. Pre Brexit will last forever.

 

[Disagree Guy]

'Member Tony Blair?

 

[Random17]

On the one hand he's terrible. On the other hand he's a 1000x better than the current lot.

Fuck.

 

[SteveWD40]

Blair would be running on late 90's / early 00's nostalgia, many voters in their 30's (like me) equate him with prosperity, stability and a strong sense of culture (oh and we were young, which always helps).

Brown got tagged with the economy, not Blair, only the hard left really give a shit about Iraq it seems.

How would he do it though? a 3rd party made up of centralist's from both sides of the isle? it's possible but highly improbable.

I think the country has slid too far right for him to win.

 

[Disagree Guy]

Blair would be running on late 90's / early 00's nostalgia, many voters in their 30's (like me) equate him with prosperity, stability and a strong sense of culture (oh and we were young, which always helps).

Brown got tagged with the economy, not Blair, only the hard left really give a shit about Iraq it seems.

How would he do it though? a 3rd party made up of centralist's from both sides of the isle? it's possible but highly improbable.

I think the country has slid too far right for him to win.

I honestly don't see him getting anywhere near the PM spot.

His approval ratings are absolutely rock bottom because of the whole Iraq war thing. The findings from the Shillcot review could actually imprison that guy if it comes out as such.

Either way he won't stand a chance.

As for running a third party? The UK will only ever be Red or Blue. I can't see any other party getting close.

 

[Ushojax]

Even Blair is not delusional enough to think he can lead the party again. But perhaps he can galvanise the non-loony elements into a serious party of opposition once more.

 

[Bold One]

Blair doesn't need to lead the party, he merely meets to groom an exciting new challenger to galvanise the public and party the same way he did in the 90s.

Heck, Cameron seized power by basically aping Tony Blair to a tee against a boring charisma vacuum, that was Gordon Brown.

 

[SteveWD40]

Even Blair is not delusional enough to think he can lead the party again. But perhaps he can galvanise the non-loony elements into a serious party of opposition once more.

See, this is where Blair might actually do well, a "Party Elder" guiding a younger candidate and molding them into the Center Left leader the country will actually vote for.

EDIT:

Blair doesn't need to lead the party, he merely meets to groom an exciting new challenger to galvanise the public and party the same way he did in the 90s.

Beaten!

 

[Screaming Meat]

'Member Tony Blair?

Oh, I 'member. I 'member very well.

 

[LiamR]

Blair doesn't need to lead the party, he merely meets to groom an exciting new challenger to galvanise the public and party the same way he did in the 90s.

I hope so.

 

[Audioboxer]

Hey, he's scottish, he may run up north lol

Yeah we have produced some absolutely terrible people

 

[Floex]

The ego of this man if he decides to run again

 

[hurricanes]

"Time to have a war criminal back so my first country ass can sit a bit more comfortable in my condo. Because screw gaijins, your lives worth less than a little comfy of westerners and who cares if my PM is responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of you."

You should be ashame of yourself.

 

[Kurtofan]

I predict a sarkozy style drubbing

 

[PJV3]

"Time to have a war criminal back so my first country ass can sit a bit more comfortable in my condo. Because screw gaijins, your lives worth less than a little comfy of westerners and who cares if my PM is responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of you."

You should be ashame of yourself.

Didn't support the war, not bothered if Blair ended up in prison over it either. But if putting up with him stopped the rise of UKIP style conservative nationalism then I would put up with him.

Europe turning into some hard right wing shithole doesn't do anything except make extremists happy.

 

[Fernando Fernandez]

Blair doesn't need to lead the party, he merely meets to groom an exciting new challenger to galvanise the public and party the same way he did in the 90s.

Heck, Cameron seized power by basically aping Tony Blair to a tee against a boring charisma vacuum, that was Gordon Brown.

Possibly Dan "The Man" Jarvis. Clive Lewis is also doing a fantastic job as late but he's quite left leaning.

 

[OverBlood 3]

I like how politicians fuck the country up and then come back to say 'I know how to fix it'. Tony Blair should be in prison for fuck sake. He's going to fuck the Labour Party up once again.

He's already dragged Jim 'I lost 40 seats' Murphy into the fray. These cunts absolutely destroyed the Labour Party and now people in their infinite wisdom think 'yeah dats who is good'. Keep eating up spoonfuls of shite from the media. It's all downhill from here if they don't reject neoliberalism.

 

[score01]

I thought we already hit rock bottom and that the only way now was up? Curse you false rock bottoms.

 

[Croyles]

2020, Jeb Bush is gonna make another run for the Presidency under the Democratic Banner and George will be his Vice Presidential nomination. The Republican Party will have moved so far to the right by then that their supporters will accuse Fox News as being a part of the Liberal media. The Dems will run on a platform of tax cuts for the rich, global warming skepticism and abstinence only sex ed. And that'll be the shift to the left that America needs.

That's a pretty good Black Mirror episode Mr Brooker, not quite as prophetic as your teddy bear PM one, but definitely better in film quality!

 

[Spuck-uk]

He may be a war criminal, but fuck me was the Labour party unstoppable under him....


sad times

Until the Iraq war, where he just turned the Labour Party into the Tory Party and hoped nobody would notice, the warmongering shithead.

 

[Spuck-uk]

Blair has incredibly poor popularity ratings, and wouldn't even be able to oust Corbyn. Twice now the party membership has overwhelmingly voted that they want nothing to do with Blairs leftovers, much less the man himself.

He's spent his spare time since stepping down working for various dictators, which I'm sure will earn him a rapturous welcome

 

[Beefy]

"Time to have a war criminal back so my first country ass can sit a bit more comfortable in my condo. Because screw gaijins, your lives worth less than a little comfy of westerners and who cares if my PM is responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of you."

You should be ashame of yourself.

I think you mistake why people wouldn't mind him back. The guy is a cunt and a war criminal, but at least the country wasn't completely fucked. My best hope is he finds and helps l some one in Labour oust Corbyn and then Labour win the next election. Then Blair gets arrested for being a cunt.

 

[Slowdive]

Tony Blair has ruled out a return to the frontline of British politics because elements of the media would “move to destroy mode”.

In a wide-ranging interview the former Labour Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007 also repeated his assertion that Brexit can be stopped “if the British people decide that, having seen what it means, the pain-gain cost-benefit analysis doesn’t stack up.”

He added: “But this is what I keep saying to people. This is like agreeing to a house swap without having seen the other house . . . You’ve got to understand, this has been driven essentially ideologically.”

in the interview with the New Statesman, Mr Blair, now 63, added he would attempt to create a space for political debate about “where western democracies go and where progressive forces particularly find their place”.

He added: “I can't come into frontline politics. There's just too much hostility, and also there are elements of the media who would literally move to destroy mode if I tried to do that.”

The former Prime Minister also used the interview to cast aside allegations that he had described Theresa May as a “lightweight” and Jeremy Corbyn as a “nutter”.

“I didn't call her that (a lightweight),” he said. “This is completely not my view, by the way. I would not be rude and disrespectful in that way. I've not said that about her, I don't think that about her.”

“I did not call Jeremy Corbyn ‘a nutter’. I don’t think he’s a nutter. I just think he is someone on the far left of politics and he’s been consistent for the last 35 years that I’ve known him, which is fine. I don’t think that’s an unprincipled position. I just don’t think it’s a position that is either correct or one from which he can win an election. But I may be wrong, so let’s wait and see.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...edia-would-move-to-destroy-mode-a7436486.html

 

[Real Hero]

I think you mistake why people wouldn't mind him back. The guy is a cunt and a war criminal, but at least the country wasn't completely fucked. My best hope is he finds and helps l some one in Labour oust Corbyn and then Labour win the next election. Then Blair gets arrested for being a cunt.

Don't you think that's quite fucked up view? We'll accept a war criminal just so our lives are little easier?

 

[Wvrs]

Don't you think that's quite fucked up view? We'll accept a war criminal just so our lives are little easier?

So much this. "Oh yeah maybe there is the little matter of two wars and the blood of thousands on his hands, I don't really know, but let's never mind about that, he brought in minimum wage, remember?"

 

[norinrad]

I think you mistake why people wouldn't mind him back. The guy is a cunt and a war criminal, but at least the country wasn't completely fucked. My best hope is he finds and helps l some one in Labour oust Corbyn and then Labour win the next election. Then Blair gets arrested for being a cunt.

I think he's the reason for Brexit which mos people tend to overlook.

 

[MrChom]

Don't you think that's quite fucked up view? We'll accept a war criminal just so our lives are little easier?

I'll take that potential war criminal as PM any day over what we have now.

A Tory party on a harder line than any time since the early 80s, and a Labour party so ineffectual it was genuinely at risk of losing its position as the official opposition due to the lack of people willing to fill shadow cabinet posts.

At the end of the day I want to see what's best for Britain....given a choice of May, Corbyn, Farron, and Blair I'd back Blair every single time. I don't trust him to always do the right thing....but I trust him to do it more often than the other 3.

 

[Charles Brandon]

1. He's not a war criminal, so lets not pretend that he is.

2. He isn't getting into Corbyn's Labour. I can only imagine he's planning some new centrist party and hoping to absorb the disaffected centrist Labour and Tory MPs. It's a bold move but if he can somehow pull it off, there are a lot of votes in that area.

3. I don't suppose it would work with him being PM again though. Too much bad blood.

 

[Jackpot]

1. He's not a war criminal, so lets not pretend that he is.

Starting a needless war is considered the worst of war crimes as it creates the environment for all the others on top of the civilian deaths and suffering, and if there's one thing that distinguishes the Iraq war it was how unprovoked it was.

 

[Charles Brandon]

And yet no convictions or charges brought.

Like most people, I did not agree with that war, they jumped the gun, they had bad intelligence, they had no long term plan and people suffered and died.

But I do personally believe that Blair at least (I can't speak for Bush) went in there with reasonable intentions. He was naive and let down by the intelligence services and allowed himself to be convinced by Bush but war criminal? No. And there was clearly provocation.

Fuck up? Yes. Hague? No.

 

[scotcheggz]

Uhhhh no thanks, the man was a good speaker and perhaps as a backbencher he can have a go, but there is no void for this man to fill. New labour is done, it's time for the old labour to stop wearing knitted cardys and dunking hob nobs in the back row.

Blair was a fucking cunt it's as simple as. He would be more ubelectable than Corbyn to anyone over the age of 30 at the very least.

 

[Daffy Duck]

So what's the deal with this?

Would he likely go back to Labour and be a shoe in for the next GE?

 

[Charles Brandon]

So what's the deal with this?

Would he likely go back to Labour and be a shoe in for the next GE?

Personally I doubt he has anyway into Labour with the current leadership and if the current leadership is ousted he won't be required. I'm predicting a new centrist party.

 

[PJV3]

Personally I doubt he has anyway into Labour with the current leadership and if the current leadership is ousted he won't be required. I'm predicting a new centrist party.

He said today he isn't going to be doing front line politics because of hostility. He will need to spend a lot of time and energy to never get Iraq being an issue.


He wants to create space for the centre ground whatever that means. He possibly might be able to get a big recruitment drive of moderates into Labour somehow.

 

[Jezbollah]

So what's the deal with this?

Would he likely go back to Labour and be a shoe in for the next GE?

I doubt he will try to be elected to any parliamentary seat. I suspect he'll adopt some kind of Nigel Farage-like position where he's a high profile unelected face who shouts from the sidelines at everything that he doesn't like.

 

[Uzzy]

He said today he isn't going to be doing front line politics because of hostility. He will need to spend a lot of time and energy to never get Iraq being an issue.


He wants to create space for the centre ground whatever that means. He possibly might be able to get a big recruitment drive of moderates into Labour somehow.

I know one way for him to create space for the centre ground. Unfortunately for Blair it means spending the rest of his life in a cell in The Hague.

 

[El Topo]

But I do personally believe that Blair at least (I can't speak for Bush) went in there with reasonable intentions. He was naive and let down by the intelligence services and allowed himself to be convinced by Bush but war criminal? No. And there was clearly provocation.

This experienced politician with a great understanding of political processes, with an excellent education and a sharp mind, was naive and let down by intelligence services?

 

[BadHand]

And yet no convictions or charges brought.

Like most people, I did not agree with that war, they jumped the gun, they had bad intelligence, they had no long term plan and people suffered and died.

But I do personally believe that Blair at least (I can't speak for Bush) went in there with reasonable intentions. He was naive and let down by the intelligence services and allowed himself to be convinced by Bush but war criminal? No. And there was clearly provocation.

Fuck up? Yes. Hague? No.

Blair ignored and exaggerated his own intelligence services to follow through with his promises to Bush, "no matter what". Naivety does not excuse 500,000 - 1,000,000 violent deaths.

 

[Charles Brandon]

Chilcot said he got a bad steer from the intelligence people. Chilcot also said he should have questioned the intelligence more. Fair enough. Does that make him a war criminal? Not in my eyes. Not in the eyes of anyone who who has the power to bring charges.

I can appreciate different points of view on this, by the way. That's just my opinion, I'm not claiming it as fact. But what is a fact is that he has not been convicted of war crimes.

 

[Huw_Dawson]

I can only imagine he's planning some new centrist party and hoping to absorb the disaffected centrist Labour and Tory MPs.

That party is called the Liberal Democrats, and Blair is not welcome to join, thank-you-very-much.

He can moan from the sidelines all he wants. He can try and shape debate towards the centre-ground too if he likes. But his political career is complete.

 

[Charles Brandon]

Sorry, who? The Liberal ... democrats? Oh yes I think I remember you guys, you were the yellow ones, yeah?

In all seriousness I'd support the LDs if I thought they had chance of success.