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Sir Tony Blair | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Anthony Charles Lynton Blair 6 May 1953 Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Political orientation | Imperialism Neoliberalism |
| Political party | Labour |
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician and war criminal[1] who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 until 2007. Blair remains deeply influential over the Labour Party and consistently works to prevent Labour from moving to the left and away from neoliberalism.[2]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Tony Blair was born on 6 May 1953 in Edinburgh, Scotland as the second child of Hazel and Leo Blair. He spent most of his early years in Adelaide, Australia before the family returned to the UK in the late 50s and settled in Durham. In Durham, Blair first attented the Chorister School before entering the elite Scottish boarding school Fettes. Blair's father was a Conservative Party supporter with ambitions of becoming a Tory MP; his politcs influenced Anthony who stood in a a mock school election as the Conservative candidate.[3]
Blair was a Trotskyist in the 1970s while studying at Oxford.[4] After graduating with a degree in law he became a barrister.[5]
Political career[edit | edit source]
He joined the Labour Party in 1975 and, in 1983, was elected to the safe Labour seat of Sedgefield.[5]
Blair assumed several Shadow Cabinet roles before being made Shadow Home Secretary in 1992.[5]
In 1994, the Labour leader, John Smith, died suddenly, leading to a leadership contest in which Blair won after making an agreement with his friend Gordon Brown to make him chancellor after the following election.[5]
Premiership[edit | edit source]
Government of 1997-2001[edit | edit source]
Labour won the 1997 general election by a landslide majority of 179. Succeeding Conservative leader John Major to the role, Blair officially became Prime Minister on 2 May 1997.[5]
Blair enthusiastically joined the Statesian bombing of Iraq in 1998. In 1999 Blair involved the UK in the NATO invasion and subsequent occupation of Kosovo. He also allowed military intervention in Sierra Leone in 2000.[5]
Government of 2001-2005[edit | edit source]
Blair's Labour won the 2001 general election with another landslide, with a 167 seat majority.[5]
After 9/11, Blair followed the leads of US Presidents Bill Clinton, and George Bush, and used it as justification, along with the claim that Saddam Hussein harboured weapons of mass destruction, to invade Afghanistan in 2001 and then Iraq in 2003. Numerous war crimes were committed during these invasions and conveniently the supposed weapons were never found. This, together with criticism over use of the machinery of government and doubts over the legality of the UK’s involvement, led the previously popular Tony Blair to become a divisive figure.[5]
Government of 2005-2010[edit | edit source]
Despite his war crimes Blair was still able to win Labour another term in government at the 2005 general election though albeit with a much smaller majority of 66.[5]
Blair used the 7 July 2005 London suicide bomber attacks as an excuse to tighten civil liberties.[5]
In 2006, the Israel-Lebanon war saw a Labour rebellion against Blair over his reluctance to criticise Israel and his continued support for Bush. He resigned as Prime Minister on 27 June 2007, being succeeded by his chancellor Gordon Brown who served as Prime Minister for the remainder of Labour's term in government.[5]
Post-premiership[edit | edit source]
Since leaving office Blair has focussed on ammassing a vast personal fortune via the creation of an interconnecting web of charities, firms and foundations resulting in Blair being worth an estimated £60 million by 2015. Blair lives a lavish lifestyle, sitting on a portfolio of 10 properties and 27 flats altogether worth £25 million, and spends his time socializing with the richest people in the world, the most notable being notorious pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and media mogul Rupert Mudoch.[2]
Blair supported the Remain campaign on the question of Britain leaving the European Union, most likely due to his desire to become President of the EU Commission. Following Brexit, Blair decided in 2016 to set up the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a management consultency firm with the stated goal of fighting "extremism and populism", but in reality the firm works for regimes with poor human rights records such as Israel and Saudi Arabia. In 2025 the Institute attended meetings on Donald Trump's plan for the U.S. to occupy Gaza and "redevelop it", the Institute initially denied involvement before admitting that they participated in the early stages of the project.[6]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Editorial: An example to us all" (June 2012). Proletarian. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Branko Marcetic (2017-09-28). "Tony Blair’s Ghoulish Last Decade" Jacobin. Archived from the original on 2025-07-08.
- ↑ Brian Wheeler (2007-05-10). "The Tony Blair story" BBC. Archived from the original on 2024-11-26.
- ↑ Rob Merrick (2017-08-10). "Tony Blair reveals he was a student 'Trot' inspired to enter politics by the life of Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky" The Independent. Archived from the original on 2020-09-28. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Jon Davis (2024). "The Rt Hon Sir Tony Blair KG" GOV.UK.
- ↑ Kevin Krane (2025-07-09). "Tony Blair and the disgusting capitalist fantasy for Gaza" Counterfire. Archived from the original on 2025-07-22.