A blog by Luke Akehurst about politics, elections, and the Labour Party - With subtitles for the Hard of Left. Just for the record: all the views expressed here are entirely personal and do not necessarily represent the positions of any organisations I am a member of.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Belated gratitude

Former Barnsbury Ward member T Blair may take some consolation as he leaves office that, having condemned him on various issues over the years, Islington South & Finsbury CLP's GC last night passed the following motion, with only 2 dissenting votes:

"This GC notes that Tony Blair will shortly resign as Prime Minister after 10 years in office. This GC believes that the last 10 years left Britain a wealthier, happier and healthier place. This GC applauds, in particular, the introduction of the national minimum wage and now the raising to £5.35, the virtual abolition of long term unemployment and the lowest unemployment rate of the major economics in Europe; the writing-off of Britain's third world debt and trebling of the overseas aid budget; free entry to museums and galleries; the three-fold increase in NHS spending and resultant 85,000 more nurses and 32,000 more doctors; the 30,000 more teachers; devolution to Scotland and Wales and a mayor and assembly for London; introduction of civil partnerships, equalisation of the age of consent and repeal of section 28. Each was only possible with a Labour Government, and was achieved in the face of Tory opposition. This GC therefore thanks Tony Blair for his leadership of the Party and wishes him well for the future."

Blair always said he would know he had succeeded when he persuaded the Labour Party to love Peter Mandelson. He hasn't quite got there with Peter, but persuading the Islington South GC to praise his own record - however late in the day - ain't bad.

11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Which new labour stooge wrote the motion?

4:54 pm, June 21, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Now there was me expecting some incisive commentary from you about Cllr Parker being found to have had a personal interest in Dalston Lane South.

5:45 pm, June 21, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Please accept my apologies. I didn't realise you had already written an incisive commentary on this whitewash.

5:49 pm, June 21, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Me.

Which part of it do you disagree with?

5:58 pm, June 21, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm Spartacus

7:41 pm, June 21, 2007

 
Blogger Dave Brinson said...

Fair dos, wontbefooledagain. Just because we aren't all dyed-in-the-wool Blairites, we are allowed to acknowledge that Britain is infinitely better than it was ten years ago, and it's a bit disingenuous not to credit some of that to the party leader, especially at the point before he sails off into the sunset...

8:17 pm, June 21, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Britain today is MORE unequal than it was when Blair came into power.But granted there have been good things too.Just not sufficient IMHO to table creepy motions. Note no "gratitude" over Iraq.....

10:40 am, June 22, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

More unequal? Less poor, certainly, which is what matters.

The '90s recession decreased inequality FFS; thinking of promoting another economic crisis to usher in the new dawn?

10:54 am, June 22, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I cannot believe that there would be any dissenting voices - Im not exactly uncritical of Tony Blair - but it would be churlish not to support that motion - which sets out the achievements over the last 10 years.

12:06 pm, June 22, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would have moved an amendment to delete the final sentence.

1:58 pm, June 22, 2007

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Labour party supports Labour leader? I'm shocked and appalled!

5:34 pm, June 22, 2007

 

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