2007 - May

[Sweder]

Yes, a great shame that Tony's time at the top was blighted by blind allegiance to The Texan Chainsaw Masochist. I well remember the night of Blair’s ascendance. I was in the Richmond Arms pub in Houston; the air was filled with beer-fuelled optimism as the Sultan of Spin took the first of many bows.

Without the bloody stain of Iraq, and in particular the ugly aftermath, Blair's premiership might be considered a triumph. His role (and that of his ministers) in Norn Iron and Palestine and some of the work on climate change and world poverty should not be completely buried under the body bags. If only . . .

. . . there again, if only my Auntie had balls she'd be my Uncle.
And she hasn't. Ultimately my country is a place I recognise less and less. Political correctness has infected every aspect of life in Britain. Taxation, both direct and ninja-style stealth-tax, is squeezing the so-called middle classes until the pips squeak. The rich get richer, the disenfranchised dwell in a sub-class where 'poor' people have mobile phones and more crack-cocaine than you can shake a stick at. We dish out dole money to fund the fags and booze of the unemployed, in turn creating a never-ending source of business for a health service creaking at the seams. We’re a safe haven alright . . . for paedophiles and recidivists. European migrant workers are the least of our worries.

More and more people that I know well have left or have considered leaving these shores to escape what they see as an erosion of 'our way of life'. I can't help but attribute much of this, or at least the acceleration, to Tony and his appeasement policies. Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime? You're 'avin' a laff.

The perceived wisdom is we'll miss him when he's gone. They said that about Thatcher; I said if you miss Maggie buy a better gun-sight. But one thing true of Thatcher was the further you travelled from these shores the greater her stature. With the exception of a collection of sycophants on Capitol Hill you can't say the same for Blair. Don't believe me? Just see how many votes the UK gets in tonight's cultural jello-wrestling that is Eurovision. You think the fact that we get Nil Points from our near-neighbours has anything to do with the crapness of our entry? Think again.

Tara Tone, don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out.