ARMED FORCES
Blair has taken Britain into five wars, more than any Prime Minister for half a century. The armed forces have mostly met the challenge (not always: viz the sailors and marines captured by Iran). Yet they have been starved of resources by the Treasury and much of their equipment is obsolete or inadequate. This is Blair's responsibility. He should have been strong enough to compel Gordon Brown to give the services what they need.
3/10
CIVIL LIBERTIES
The European Convention on Human Rights was made part of our law (saving people from having to take a case to the European Court), but in general civil liberties have been restricted, and not only on account of the 'War on Terror'. Officials have been granted new powers to enter private homes and information on individuals may now be exchanged by government departments. There are more CCTV cameras in Britain than in the rest of the EU countries combined. We now live in a 'surveillance society'.
0/10
CIVIL SERVICE
The upper reaches of the Civil Service have been politicised. Non-partisan information officers have been replaced by Labour loyalists. Practice of 'burying bad news' encouraged. Result: corruption of the tradition of civil service independence.
0/10
CLIMATE CHANGE
Blair has talked of the urgent need to tackle this and give a lead to the world. But UK emissions are higher than they were in 1997, and the incoherence of the policy is demonstrated by plans to build new airports. Good intentions, poor execution.
4/10
COUNTRYSIDE
Hunting made illegal (a controversial measure), but the Act was so ill-framed that the sport continues. Dreadful mismanagement of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth. Agriculture neglected, family farms in trouble, farming viable only on account of the revised CAP.
1/10
CRIME
Violent crime rising sharply, despite the promise to be 'tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime'. Certain other offences, including crimes against property, are down. ASBOs introduced. Spate of ill-conceived and incoherent Criminal Justice Acts. Only a quarter of crimes cleared up.
3/10
CULTURE
Blair talked enthusiastically of Britain as 'a young country' and promised cultural enrichment. But he has patronised only what is most meretricious in contemporary culture. While all art galleries and museums are now free, some public libraries have closed and even the British Library is in financial difficulties. His legacy? The 2012 Olympic Games, already hugely over budget. Will they turn out to be another Dome - Blair's first great flop and PR disaster?
2/10
DEVOLUTION
To Scotland and Wales. Not Blair's pigeon, but a qualified success. Failure to answer West Lothian Question.
6/10
ECONOMY
Ceding control of monetary policy to the Bank of England has contributed to low inflation and steady growth. Gordon Brown claims credit but Blair supported him. Minimum wage successfully implemented. On the debit side: raid on pensions, rising unemployment, huge numbers on incapacity benefits.
7/10
EDUCATION
Or 'Education, education, education' as he used to put it. Big programme of school-building and refurbishment. Creation of City Academies. Some improvement in primary school results. Dumbing-down of A-levels. Student fees.
5/10
EUROPE
Marking time. Promise to join Euro forgotten.
4/10
FAMILY
No fiscal support for marriage. Family breakdown encouraged (doubtless unintentionally) by system of tax credits. The UK now has the largest number of single-parent families, teenage pregnancies and abortions in the EU. One consequence is a rise in teenage crime, often violent (knife culture) and the phenomenon of 'feral children'. On the other hand, better arrangements for maternity and paternity leave.
2/10
GOVERNMENT CONDUCT
Orderly practices have been replaced by 'sofa government', so decisions are made without minutes being taken. The prevalence of 'spin' has destroyed trust. Presentation has become a substitute for policy. Influence has been bought (the Bernie Ecclestone affair was only the start.) The BBC was shamefully bullied over the Iraq dossier. Result: cynicism all round. Few now believe any Government announcement.
0/10
HEALTH
Huge spending, much of it on salaries. Waiting-times down but results not commensurate with spending. Many NHS trusts in financial difficulties. Computer fiascos. Junior doctors unemployed.
4/10
HOUSING
Talk of provision of 'affordable housing' remains mere talk. Meanwhile the government persists in plans for house-building on greenfield sites rather than brownfield urban sites. Plans to demolish Victorian terraces show contempt for conservation principles.
2/10
IMMIGRATION
The government has lost all control of Britain's borders. While immigration from Eastern European countries (subsequent to their joining the EU) has had economic benefits, the scale of uncontrolled immigration has imposed heavy burdens on local authorities, exacerbating housing problems and created difficulties for schools and social services. It has also provoked unrest among sections of the native white working-class.
2/10
"All political lives, unless they are cut off at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is
the nature of politics
and of human affairs"
- Enoch Powell, MP
INTERVENTION
Initial successes in Bosnia, Kosovo and Sierra Leone all claimed as examples of 'ethical foreign policy'. Support for USA after 9/11 was popular, as was engagement in Afghanistan to remove the Taliban. The subsequent identification of Britain's interests with the USA's, and the portrayal of Blair as 'Bush's poodle', damaged Britain's standing in the world and alienated European allies.
4/10
IRAQ
The great disaster that marks Blair's premiership, his Vietnam. Failure to find WMD convinced the majority of the British people that Blair took us into the war on false pretences. Scandal of 'sexed-up dossiers'. Corruption of integrity of the intelligence services. Failure to insist on a plan for post-Saddam government. The Iraq war has contributed to lack of progress in settlement of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, originally one of Blair's top foreign policy aims. Only plus point: removal of Saddam; but is Iraq's present state any better than when he was in charge?
1/10
NORTHERN IRELAND
Peace (of a sort) secured. Devolved government restored, at expense of wipe-out of moderate constitutional parties.
8/10
PARLIAMENT
Partial reform of House of Lords, but plans for further reform stalled. The Commons regularly bypassed as ministers announce policy initiatives and spending plans on TV and radio or by press releases. Blair has spent less time in the Commons than any previous prime minister.
2/10
PERSONAL STANDING
Blair's toadying to the rich and his willingness to accept freebies for himself and his family have disgusted traditional Labour supporters. Greatly admired in 1997, he is now dismissed as a habitual liar who says whatever seems most opportune at the moment. No prime minister has fallen so far from such a height. Few now think him 'the pretty straight kind of guy' he told us he was, though some still grant him 'good intentions'.
2/10
RACE RELATIONS
Again, Iraq has damaged race relations in the UK - a remarkable result for a 'politically correct' prime minister.
3/10
STANDARDS
Blair declared his intention (July 1998) to be 'purer than pure', to have 'no truck with anything that is improper in any shape or form'. But ministers have lied to the House of Commons and kept their jobs. The cash-for-honours affair has resulted in Blair becoming the first British prime minister to be questioned as part of a police investigation. Some of his closest aides may find themselves in the dock. Ministers acknowledge responsibility for failure (when they don't try to blame officials), say they are sorry, but neither resign nor are dismissed.
0/10
TERRORISM
Blair's eager participation in Bush's 'War on Terror' has brought Islamic terrorism home to Britain. His refusal to accept a causal link between the Iraq war and the London bombings of July 7, 2005, and subsequent terrorist plots, finally destroyed his reputation for integrity. Scare-mongering tactics have included the dispatch of tanks to guard Heathrow airport.
1/10
TRANSPORT
In 1997 Labour promised 'a joined-up transport policy'. There's no sign of it. Public transport is far poorer than in any other western European country and much more expensive. The private motorist has been milched and treated as a public enemy. Our roads remain congested. Plans for road-charging have been enacted only in London.
2/10
FIRST POSTED MAY 10, 2007
