I have just watched Tony Blair’s final speech to the TUC congress, a speech which has added to my admiration for a man whom I believe to be one of the greatest Prime Ministers this country has ever had.
He is now a very unpopular Prime Minister, largely due to the war in
Iraq. I am a supporter of our actions in
Iraq and
Afghanistan. I believe the wars were necessary, and I believe our continuing operations in both countries are necessary and right.
The Taliban where harbouring Al Qaeda, this should have been stopped prior to 9/11. Military operations are continuing in the country to try and secure a stable future for the country and ensure the Taliban never returns to power – surely that can only be a good thing for Afghanistan, for the middle east, and for the rest of the world.
I support the war in Iraq. I think Blair (and Bush) put too much emphasis on Weapons of Mass Destruction in the weeks and months leading up to the War, but netherless I believe the removal of Saddam was necessary and right. I believe our continuing operations in Iraq are necessary for the same reasons as our operations in Afghanistan.
He will probably be remembered more for these actions in a negative light, rather than the numerous achievements he has achieved here in Britain, which is a shame. I hope history will show that our actions in Iraq & Afghanistan were a positive thing for the global community.
Below is a small selection of these;
- Freedom of Information act to make Government more transparent
- Pension Credits, reduction of VAT on fuel for pensioners
- Introduction and increase of the national minimum wage
- Reform of the House of Lords (admittedly more work needs to be done there)
- Introduction of an elected mayor for London
- The Human Rights Act
- Continuing work to bring about peace in Northern Ireland
- A strong and stable Economy
- Independence for the Bank of England – including the setting of Interest Rates
- NHS Direct
- Devolution - Scottish Parliament / Welsh Assembly
- Network Rail, and the removal of Railtrack.
- Hunting Ban
- 24 Hour Drinking
- Ban on smoking in public places
- Low inflation & low unemployment
- Equalling of the age of consent for homosexuals
- Civil partnerships
- Many changes to employment rights – increased holiday entitlement, increased maternity & paternity entitlement.
- Increasing efforts towards reducing third world poverty
- Increasing efforts towards fighting climate change
Now, while I’m not a fan of all of these changes, I think it is clear to see this is an impressive list of achievements in less than 10 years of Government.
I, for one, will be sorry to see Mr Blair go – I only hope his successor can achieve as much as he has.
