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Iraq war PM Blair hints at return to politics, claims public being offered ‘fantasy & error’ | Iraq war PM Blair hints at return to politics, claims public being offered ‘fantasy & error’ |
(about 5 hours later) | |
He sold his companies to spend more time doing charity work, but now Tony Blair is hinting at a return to politics as he warns that Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party was putting Britain at risk of becoming a “one-party state.” | He sold his companies to spend more time doing charity work, but now Tony Blair is hinting at a return to politics as he warns that Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party was putting Britain at risk of becoming a “one-party state.” |
In an interview with Esquire magazine, the former Labour leader dubbed it “a tragedy” that British voters now had to choose between the Tories and “an ultra-left Labour Party” which he believed pursued policies that took the country “back to the Sixties.” | In an interview with Esquire magazine, the former Labour leader dubbed it “a tragedy” that British voters now had to choose between the Tories and “an ultra-left Labour Party” which he believed pursued policies that took the country “back to the Sixties.” |
“In the UK at the moment you've got a one-party state,” he told the magazine. “When you put it all together (taking into account that the Conservative leader wasn't elected), there's something seriously wrong.” | “In the UK at the moment you've got a one-party state,” he told the magazine. “When you put it all together (taking into account that the Conservative leader wasn't elected), there's something seriously wrong.” |
And despite having recently announced he was scaling back on his million-pound-generating business activities to focus on his “inter-religious dialogue,” the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, the ex-PM did not rule out a return to Westminster. | And despite having recently announced he was scaling back on his million-pound-generating business activities to focus on his “inter-religious dialogue,” the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, the ex-PM did not rule out a return to Westminster. |
“I don't know if there's a role for me... There's a limit to what I want to say about my own position at this moment. All I can say is that this is where politics is at. Do I feel strongly about it? Yes, I do. Am I very motivated by that? Yes. Where do I go from here? What exactly do I do? That's an open question.” | “I don't know if there's a role for me... There's a limit to what I want to say about my own position at this moment. All I can say is that this is where politics is at. Do I feel strongly about it? Yes, I do. Am I very motivated by that? Yes. Where do I go from here? What exactly do I do? That's an open question.” |
To Esquire, Blair added that Corbyn’s refocusing of the party into a force on the streets as well as in Parliament “is a huge problem because they live in a world that is very, very remote from the way that broad mass of people really think. | To Esquire, Blair added that Corbyn’s refocusing of the party into a force on the streets as well as in Parliament “is a huge problem because they live in a world that is very, very remote from the way that broad mass of people really think. |
“The reason why the position of these guys is not one that will appeal to an electorate is not because they're too left or because they're too principled – it's because they're too wrong. | “The reason why the position of these guys is not one that will appeal to an electorate is not because they're too left or because they're too principled – it's because they're too wrong. |
“The reason their policies shouldn't be supported isn't because they're wildly radical, it's because they're not. They don't work. They're actually a form of conservatism. This is the point about them. What they are offering is a mixture of fantasy and error.” | “The reason their policies shouldn't be supported isn't because they're wildly radical, it's because they're not. They don't work. They're actually a form of conservatism. This is the point about them. What they are offering is a mixture of fantasy and error.” |
His comments, which came on the same day as many remembered the 15th anniversary of the War in Afghanistan, had a freezing reception across social media, on which critics described Blair as “narcissistic”, “war criminal” and “c**t”. | His comments, which came on the same day as many remembered the 15th anniversary of the War in Afghanistan, had a freezing reception across social media, on which critics described Blair as “narcissistic”, “war criminal” and “c**t”. |
“Tony Blair hinting at a return to UK politics after years as a Middle East envoy. He just can't stop returning to the scenes of his crimes,” tweeted journalist Hicham Yezza. | “Tony Blair hinting at a return to UK politics after years as a Middle East envoy. He just can't stop returning to the scenes of his crimes,” tweeted journalist Hicham Yezza. |
On the streets of Britain, Blair's return also received a frosty reception. A member of the public told RT: "He's done enough harm as it is. He seriously messed up the Middle East, took us to war with Iraq, we're still suffering from that. Lord help us, I just hope he stays out of it." | |
The father of New Labour argued instead that while there was a “huge reaction” against his politics, it was “too soon to say the center has been defeated.” | The father of New Labour argued instead that while there was a “huge reaction” against his politics, it was “too soon to say the center has been defeated.” |
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