The occasion of Gordon Brown becoming Prime Minister has been used by numerous commentators, either at home or abroad in order for some to praise Tony Blair’s legacy and for others in order to minimise it.

The former were unfortunately I may add more vocal than the later. Abroad things are even worse. Some continental medias are openly using the opportunity to brags about ‘Britain’s longest period of economic growth’, by at the same time highlighting ‘the corrections made to the damages caused by Thatcherism’.

Yet the real picture has numerous differences, with the one pictured by these commentators. If Britain was able to record its longest period of economic growth, it is mainly thanks to the reforms made by Margaret Thatcher and, by the often forgotten John Major. While it is fair to say that some mistakes were made during Thatcher’s years, Britain’s industries were already in decline by 1979 courtesy of Labour support to Arthur Scargill and, after ten years in power, the legacy of the Labour Party on social matters is nonexistent to say the least. True ‘billions were invested in order to catch up with other nations’ as people like Anthony Giddens like to say in the French newspaper Le Figaro. Yet the education system is falling apart, the NHS is even more bureaucratic than before and, Britain’s transport system is unable to meet the need of the future decades.

More than the failure of Blair’s legacy this also highlights another failure, the utter failure of the ‘Third Way model’ in Britain.

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Or not, as the case may be. Does anyone honestly believe that there will be any change beyond presentational purposes that will separate Gordon Brown from Tony Blair?

Gordon Brown has played an enormous role in the running of this country for the past decade. He has been responsible for Britain’s economic problems, the disguising of real inflation, the raiding of the pension’s pot, the massive increases in taxation and wasted Government spending and the selling off of our gold supply for an extremely poor return. He has had an equal hand in it all.

I’m watching the BBC News 24 coverage of Tony Blair’s leaving office as I write this. As per usual, the institutionally leftist BBC journalists are discussing Blair’s Iraq legacy. We know by now that the British people’s number one political priority has never been Iraq, but in recent times, immigration – but, of course, the biased Beeb haven’t mentioned that once, because they do not speak for the people, but themselves.

Now, Blair is yesterday’s news, and those journalists who were welcoming him into Downing Street so warmly and with so much celebration only ten short years ago are now hounding him out of office, taking every opportunity to run him into the ground. Not that Blair does not deserve much of the abuse for what he has done to this country, but there is no greater hypocrisy than has been engaged in by many of these smirking journalists. So many of them have a spring in their step, a quiet smile on their faces – and yet they have spent the past years willingly aiding Blair in his deception of the British people.

Prime Minister’s Question in Parliament looms. Blair is at Parliament now and soon it will be over. Far too late in my opinion. Then I’ll be off to watch Tim Henman beat Lopez in the second round of Wimbledon. A real, decent British man. Come on, Tim!

It is with disgust, that I learnt today the new of an agreement concerning a new European Constitution. While the name ‘constitution’ has been dropped from the document’s name, it is a constitution in all but the name.

The changes from the previous document, rejected by both French and Dutch voters back in 2005, are mostly cosmetic, concerning a European foreign minister and symbols. Though Tony Blair pretended to have obtained a derogation for us, the only derogation permitted will concern the Charter of Fundamental Rights, as far as foreign policy is concerned, the 26 others states did not signed a binding agreement, allowing us to opt out of the common foreign policy. The result of what happened in Brussels is thus, a clear defeat for the United Kingdom and a stunning victory for the Franco-German alliance of Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel.

Putting up a strong and determined opposition to any treat was well possible, Lech and Jaroslavl Kaczynski both, respectively President and Prime Minister of Poland did not hesitated to say some truths concerning Germany’s past, on the issue of qualified majority voting. France also managed to repel a clause concerning ‘free and undistorted competition’, there are no doubts that the whole of the French left and a part of the French right, must be celebrating this ‘victory against ultraliberalism’. This all shows that putting up a strong opposition against this treaty was possible, Blair choose not to oppose the treaty, perhaps in order to foster a semblance of ‘European legacy’.

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At long last, the light is visible at the end of the tunnel. The shadow of Blair over Britain and the Labour party slowly recedes after what was yet another speech of arguably epic proportions at the end book chapter of a mighty frontline political career – that was, in the end, far overshadowed by spin, incompetence and political decadence.

Today, the curtain falls on a political career that began so full of hope and promise, but ended in failure and despair. The master at work, for perhaps the last time, delivered as memorable a speech as anything made in the prime of his career. He bid farewell to an audience in his constituency of Sedgefield that thunderously applauded as he finally bowed out – but how many of the faces in that crowd wished for him to be gone ‘sooner rather than later?’ The man that brought his party two landslide electoral victories and a third decisive victory only two and a half years ago is soon to be struck off and forced out of office into exile.

In the Conservative party; we might despise Mr Blair and what he has done to our country in ten years of misrule – but we perhaps, and it is hard for many of us to admit, still have some small and barely registerable amount of respect for the abilities of a man who has thwarted us for so long. Clearly there is little love for Anthony Blair left in the Labour party. On June the 27th, he is gone – and all eyes shall turn to the man looming in the shadows, Gordon Brown.

The veteran left-winger Michael Meacher has today thrown his hat into the ring with a direct challenge to lead the Labour party while calling for Trident nuclear weapons to be scrapped, huge investment in renewable energy, curbs on City bonuses and nationalisation of the railways.

For Gordon Brown at least, this can only be good news. Michael Meacher has stepped up to the podium as yet another willing sacrificial lamb for the slaughter – just another no-hope candidate for Gordon to beat. However, as one Labour MP commented last year, “We don’t do coronations.” The Labour party therefore need to put on the appearance of a democratically contested selection, but I think there is little doubt in the ultimate outcome.

Despite Tony Blair being, in my opinion, the main reason for Labour’s previous three electoral victories, it now seems to have become common practice for leadership and deputy leadership candidates to openly attack the Prime Minister, his record in office and his polices – each doing their level best to undermine Blair in the waning days of his leadership and gain favourability with the Unions and grassroots party membership whom will ultimately decide their fate.

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News reaches us that Tony Blair’s top Downing Street aide, Ruth Turner, has been arrested yet again in the police investigation over the alleged sale of Peerages for Loans. She is currently under the suspicion of perverting the course of justice and colluding to sell House of Lords peerages to Labour party donors.

Miss Turner, Labour’s chief fund-raiser Lord Levy and Tony Blair must be becoming quite familiar with their local constabulary. These three core suspects are however not the only people that should be having sleepless nights. The ongoing investigation will undoubtedly have implications for Gordon Brown as Primeministerial heir apparent. Had there been any misdoings, it is highly unlikely that Chancellor would have been out of the frame and completely uninformed – he has extended his tentacles and all-seeing-eye into most other operations, so why not the illegal sale of peerages?

Prime Minister’s Question time yesterday was marked by a strong performance from David Cameron quizzing Mr Blair on his rapidly waning authority. Cameron attacked Blair on recent comments made by Home Secretary John Reid who claimed that the Home Office was not “fit for purpose” and that it would take two years or more to reform. However, the real punch line from Mr Cameron was:

“The Government can’t plan. Ministers are treading water. They are all waiting for the Chancellor and not listening to you. Your authority is draining away. Why don’t you accept what everybody knows – it is now in the national interest for you to go.”

Strangely, Mr Blair disagreed and proceeded to list what he believed to be Labour’s “achievements” in office since 1997. This was classic Blair, but after ten years is wearing increasingly thin. Blair talks about falling levels of recorded crime falling. Well yes, according to government statistics (hardly the most accurate representation as it is,) recorded crime may have fallen – but there is a difference between recorded crime and actual levels of crime. Unrecorded crime is undoubtedly on the rise, along with levels of violent crime – that is where Blair and Labour have failed, but they continue to insist on hiding behind their misleading statistics.

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As most now know, Tony Blair’s chief of staff in Downing Street, Ruth Turner, was arrested early on the morning of Friday the 19th by police and taken for questioning in relation to the loans for peerages scandal.

After just over a week it has certainly been interesting to observe the immediate reaction of those in the Labour party and their political allies in the papers and media. The Editor of the Guardian, Michael White, took to the stage on BBC News 24 to give a particularly cringing analysis on the character of Ruth Turner, whom he apparently once met and duly described as a “kind, innocent girl” who seemed to “giggle a lot.” And? What was his point exactly? That Miss Turner being a young “innocent” woman makes her somehow incapable of attempting to pervert the course of justice? What Michael White was actually attempting was to register a vote of sympathy with the viewing general public – if those watching somehow believed Miss Turner to have been unfairly and extremely treated then they would be far less critical of the Labour party as a whole. Of course, Michael White would have us believe that he and others were only being defensive on the grounds of being naturally protective towards such an “innocent girl.” Rubbish. Not that surprisingly I, like many, believe otherwise.

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Always cause for concern is when members of Conservative Future or the Conservative party state (somehow as if it is given fact) that Tony Blair has been “a bloody good Prime Minister.” Clearly they haven’t been paying any attention whatsoever these past ten years.

In 1994 Tony Blair arose as a fresh faced grinning Cheshire-cat to become the leader of the Labour party. The circumstances of his rise to lead the party and eventually the country are certainly debatable. Journalist Melanie Philips believes that Blair’s appeal was his emphasis on socially conservative policy, while some other commentators put Blair’s rise down to factors such as the collapse of a Conservative party mired under allegations of sleaze and incompetence. In truth, Tony Blair and Labour winning the 1997 was probably a combination of many factors, however, a Government should always be judged upon its record in office – not on what it said in getting there, as an opposition can say anything they like since they have no responsibilities (and some, like the Lib Dems, will never have any.)

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