I had hoped to bring you a YouTube video today, with Ed Miliband’s conference speech bit on “I am not Tony Blair – but he’s a great man”, intercut with clips from the must-see Channel Four Dispatches documentary, The Wonderful World of Tony Blair.
Well, it’s now up on YouTube, but you can only watch it if you live outside of the UK, i.e. anywhere else in the world. (Those of you who are techno savvy enough won’t find this a problem, but most will.) You’ll have to make do with this -
The reason is not a great conspiracy by Blairites and Unionists against freedom of expression, but the commercial and copyright interests of Channel Four and the programme makers. The full documentary is on YouTube The Wonderful World of Tony Blair and for anyone who doubts that the UK, some of its politicians, some of the Labour Party, and some politicians of every other party profit massively, obscenely and by very dubious methods from their elected position and from the military/industrial complex and non-elected brutal dictatorships, this 50-minute programme is a must watch, must see.
Issues examined forensically by Peter Oborne include Tony Blair’s wealth, his hidden and obscure financial dealings, his financial backers, his mandate - or lack of one, as part of The Quad - the Middle Eastern dictators, oil interests and brutal undemocratic regimes that are his clients and provide a large part of his income, his selective dealings with Israel and Palestine, and how he interprets his role as Peace Envoy - all this and more.
Blairites will watch it through eyes that cannot, and will not see the true nature of their great leader and hero.
Who are the Blairites?
As Wikipedia and other sources cautiously warn, not all those identified by the media as Blairites would admit to being so, and some may have been mistakenly classified as such. Some clearly were, and now have the moral sense, with the benefit of hindsight, to realise what they allowed themselves to become identified with. Others are expedient closet Blairites who realise the mood has changed in the People’s Party, at least while Ed Miliband is leader, but stand ready in the slips to declare themselves again should he be deposed by, say, David Miliband.
We may say with reasonable certainty that Tom Harris MP and Jim Murphy MP and UK Shadow Secretary of State for Defence are Blairites. (Should they reject this appellation, I will be happy to withdraw my assertion.) I have some reason to believe that John McTernan, political commentator is a Blairite, and so also is Alistair Campbell, but this may only be unfounded rumour, similar to the scurrilous suggestion that Cheri Blair is a Blairite.
David Miliband is undoubtedly a Blairite, as is Jacqui Smith, former Home Secretary, forced to resign over expenses and a claim for pornographic videos rented by her husband. Jacqui Smith is one of those picked to front the Purple Labour concept, a not so thinly concealed attempt to revive the reputation of Blair and Blairism in the Party. I believe she may be a candidate to be BBC Vice-Chairman – now there’s a thought …
John Rentoul is a Blairite - the political editor of the paper that claims to be The Independent, a newspaper that does its best to ignore Scotland and Scottish affairs, and whose reputation for high standards of journalistic accuracy and probity has been somewhat dented of late by their star columnist, Johann Hari, who is certainly not a Blairite.
I think we may safely say that if Tom Harris is elected Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, we might have a Blairite Scottish party, and in twenty years time, when Jim Murphy has drunk his fill of UK defence posts, and deigns to consider coming back home as Leader – but hold on – Scotland will be independent long before then …
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Like you Peter, I watched the programme with, in my case an already cynical view, but could not believe that this guy would push the boundaries of public credibility as much as he has done. Quite amoral was how it looked.
ReplyDeleteHe refused to answer legitimate questions. He used his global influences to further his private business interests. He developed a system to bat away scrutiny and constructed his own terms of accountability. He most certainly did not exercise his prerogatives equitably and was clearly operating to an Israeli mandate and barely for the Palestinian cause.
What more can be said other than it was felt that he had violated six of the seven principles he was appointed to fulfill and to observe.
Mammon seems to have a new fully paid up disciple - totally reversed to the principles that brought him world status - Sad, in a funny, devalued way!
"The banality of evil ..." Hannah Arendt at Adolph Eichmann's trial.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Barontorc
Your reaction to Ian Gray being described as the best First Minister that Scotland never had was priceless. Tell me, did you study under MArcel Marceau?
ReplyDeleteI did, Nellix, but I couldn't afford the black tights - and at my age, they might have been misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteWatching various clips including yours, one sees just how far removed they really are from the Scottish mentality and morality.
ReplyDelete'The best First Minister Scotland never had...'
Soon to be followed by an ed Miliband quote, 'The Best Prime minister Labour never had.'
Your quote is better, Stevie.
ReplyDeleteHi Peter,
ReplyDeleteI draw parallels in the Scottish attitude between Mgt. Thatcher of the Tories and Blair of the Labs. Both lead their parties to outstanding electoral success but at the same time sowed the seed of their Parties' subsequent declines. Basically, in my opinion, because they abandoned any moral balance in their unbridled and unprincipled quest for personal power.
This is felt to be particularly so in Scotland, where the dominant opinion is social democratic in basis, whereas these two pursued the opposite. I will admit that anti-Thatcher feeling is greater than ant-Blair at the moment, but leave it a few years and I am sure he will catch up as more of the fruits of the past Labour Government ripen.
Thatcher waited 'till she was pushed. Blair just got out sooner.
Regards,
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ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis, Rab. The Tories were never social democrats, although they made a reasonable show of posing as such for decades. The Murdo Initiative has now thrown all the posturing and excuses into sharp focus.
ReplyDeleteIf the Scottish Centre Right has a future,it lies with him, and I wish him well, because I think he has a clear-eyed view of his party and of Scotland, even though it's not one I share.
Scottish Labour mirror the loss of identity of their UK party, in that they are nominally a social democratic party but have utterly betrayed that identity and the trust placed in them. UK Labour has a chance, since the LibDems are now a cipher, and England has no other social deomcratic alternative.
However, their chance of survival, never mind of government, lies with the success of Scottish Labour, and Scottish Labour is in deep trouble because Scots do have a social democratic party, the SNP, and it's in goverment for its second term with a powerful mandate.
The incredible thing is than none of the Labour gurus saw the danger or warned against it until it was too late. The London-based parties and their media shills have comprehensively ignored Scotland, and it only periodically intruded into their metropolitan obsessions.
But they can't ignore it now, and theye're running very scared - and very late - in a race they can't win except by foul play - and we'll get it soon, with a vengeance.
You ain't seen nuthin' yet ... AL JOLSON