The ten years of Blair

Church leaders have paid tribute to the ten years’ service that Prime Minister Tony Blair has performed on behalf of the United Kingdom. They have praised him for having helped to ensure peace in Northern Ireland, but have raised doubts about the wisdom of the British expedition in Iraq. CAFOD, the international development agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has said that Blair failed to satisfy expectations in the campaign against extreme poverty. Blair declared to the members of the Labour Party at Trimdon, in his constituency of Sedgefield, Cleveland, that he would stand down as Labour leader and premier on 27 June. He told them he had always done what “he thought was right for the country”. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor said he recognized the “deep differences of opinion on the war in Iraq” but added: “History will give a better judgement than that today”. The cardinal continued: “For my part, I appreciate and thank Tony Blair for his dedication and for his generous service to the country. In particular, I wish to thank him warmly for his efforts to secure peace in Northern Ireland and his constant efforts to eliminate poverty in Africa”.The Anglican Primate Rowan Williams for his part declared: “The Church of England, in common with all people of faith, is grateful that over the past ten years the Prime Minister has rejected the demands of some to close down the space of our society with which both vigorous debate and the full diversity of religious conviction can find voice and be expressed. There have naturally been differences of vision and judgement between the Prime Minister and the Church of England, not least over the Iraq war, but he has been consistently willing to allow these disagreements to be voiced and discussed openly. The current development in Northern Ireland bears witness to one of his most enduring achievements, and the high profile given to development issues, especially in Africa, and to the environmental crisis reflects the passion and intelligence he has brought to his work as Prime Minister”.The Anglican Archbishop of York John Sentamu said he disagreed with Blair about the invasion of Iraq. “This disagreement must not diminish many of the positive things achieved by Tony Blair during his term of office, including the peace deal in Northern Ireland, in which he ensured that the prejudices and failures of the past would not succeed in interfering with constructive dialogue and peace”, he added. A spokesman of CAFOD said that the British government, under Blair’s leadership, distributed a greater quantity of aid than ever before. But he added that Blair “dispensed generosity, but not justice”. He pointed out that “the disappointments, combined with the undeniable successes, derive in part from the high hopes and ambitions with which Tony Blair arrived in power… and in part from the diminishing of his international influence, which dogged the Prime Minister after the invasion of Iraq”. The White House has described Blair as an “extraordinary leader” as well as a loyal friend and ally. His exit from the political scene has triggered a leadership contest which will conclude on 24 June, with the election of the new Prime Minister and his Deputy. The premiership of Tony Blair was accompanied by a period of steady growth, high employment and low interest rates. But the opinion polls suggest that the Labour Party will lose to the Conservatives at the next general elections.