the day he entered num 10, was when this country went to the dogs!, bet those people cheering him are now thinking, " what a bunch of mugs we were ..!"
I remember it very well back in '97 when Blair and his New Labour party won the election....there was a fresh breeze of optimism for the future and for a while the British public warmed to Blaire...but it all started to go down-hill when Blaire got Britain involved in Iraq...he should've kept-out and left it for the yanks to sort out
And Little did anyone know what lied inhead for the British public with Blair in office for 10 years labour surly but steadly destroyed the country once again after the 70s why oh why didnt we vote for tories in the last election its almost a joke that ppl believe all labours lies DO NOT make the same mistake next year and vote for Coservaties
If only we knew then what we know now. Labour has deceived the people, destroyed the country, and is continuing with its dictatorship. CALL AN ELECTION GORDON BROWN - YOU UNELECTED DICTATOR!
You saw it, i was far too young eve ntoo vote, this Labour govt. has completly abandoned my generation and criminalised it! I vote for the first time this year, and Labour will not begetting it.
I know, that day marked the beginning of a slope that would dismantle and destroy Britain to the state that it is now society and economy alike, I think we will have our Conservative government next time round, who wants bighead brown in?
Blair changed the constitution on the back of an envelope. He was the worst Primeminister this country ever had, including Edward Heath and Gordon Brown.
Okay war in Iraq was a mistake but no one is telling the iraq people to kill each other. It's not Bush or Blair who is committing suicide and killing all the innocent Iraqies. Iraq people should stop slaughtering each other. War in Iraq ended within 3 weeks. Most of the iraqies died after the war ended. By the way Saddam was not worth living. He was like Stalin.
Time 4 Change? I wholeheartedly agree - the country has had quite enough of Labour . The sooner we have people in power who can actually govern the better things will be.
What an ass, blair and the one on the start of this video, looks like a typical yuppie new Labour twat. I think history will treat mr blair far worse than mrs thatcher, he was such a let down, vain and currupt, I and many others made a silly mistake in '97, part of me wishes id voted for major. He was a good man. Sad day in British history this.
Yeah, the kind of squares that punk went up against. They still delusional it is the empire days, Britain is a world power and Prime Ministers have the format of Churchill.
The morons who voted this clown into power have now got everything they deserved. It's just a shame that the Great Britain we once knew is now lost forever under a sea of immigration, financial ruin, crime, obesity and apathy.
I know, they need to increase the budget for celebrations or a better P.R. team. After all, it is an important day that deserves a little bit of pompousity. On the other hand, I live in America...and we love to party..
The only good thing about this is the flags. Having said that I think it's really unBritish to orchestrate loads of people to wave flags and cheer for a party leader. This is not North Korea.
What a mess this country is in thanks to Maggie and her admirer + betrayer of socialism Blair. Now it's the end of Thatcherism, and look where it got us..
happy days apart from the war he was the best pm we had in years better than that cow thatcher
labour has changed too much if ur white&working class&english theres no one to vote for the torys tried to destroy us&will again labours only cares about the ethnic &middle class &welsh&scottish voters as for the lib dems forgett it
Well, we may live in a more prosperous country with marginally better public services, but surely nobody can say we are a happier or more cohesive society than in 1997.
thanks to this sham of a labour government me and alot of decent people in this great country now live in a degenerative society where there are bad mannered ppl, dolites druggies and scum going round knifing ppl and getting rewarded for it, election 2010 if cameron wins and labour lose alot of seats ill crack that bottle of bubly open and spray it round the room and im sure alot of other people will to, roll on 2010, labour the end is nigh :-)
ha and you'll get more of the same i promise you, what's more if people continue to vote for the established parties they will deserve everything they get.
ie More Immigration
More European laws
More Multiculturalism
There is virtually no difference between Liebour and the torys, they have their noses in the same trough.
18 years of the tories everyone wants labour, 11 years of labour everyone wants tories, we're just going to keep going round and round in a downward spiral
Blair was not a great pm. Brown was not a great Chancellor. They inherited a good economy thanks to Mrs Thatcher's painful reforms. Why should i work and pay hge amouts of tax to peole who dont deserve it. Labour is the party for dole dossers, junkies, and immigrants!
you're wrong! the tories built bubble economies - yeah, they grew but then they burst! What Labour achieved during Blair's time was economic stablility! that was their greatest economic success
They were just lucky that it was a time of growth in the world economy. They also created growth through a huge increase in public spending that will have to be paid for by us and our children and our grandchildren. Labour have raped this country, created huge social problems and left a damining legacy that will take at least a decade to put right.
Don't Blame The Government For The Social Problem That Is A Human Problem Not A Government Problem Anyway What Do You Mean
The Labour Government Has Raped His Country
They Haven't This Country Is Booming If You Want Somebody To Blame For Today's Crisis Blame MG Rover They Axed 6000 Jobs And Ever Since That Employers Have Jumped On The Band Wagon By Making People Unemployed
The many many many social problems were caused by Thatcher. She took away society, encouraging people to look after number 1, taking away the self policing that comes with society. She took away aspiration, opportunity and belonging for many people, were once was a union culture for example now stands a drug/unemployment culture. She ripped apart many communities, such as the coal communities, without any help to recover, leaving communities in tatters...
Thatcher didn't cause social problems. Our social problems were borne out of the 1960's sexual and cultural revolution, started by Harold Wilson and helped by the propaganda at the BBC.
Mrs Thatcher allowed the poor to buy their own houses. She allowed them to buy shares in the companies they worked for. She killed inflation which hurts the poor more than it hurts the rich. She tipped teh balance in favour of teh employee rather than the Union.
Are you telling me it is right that a Union should have the power to bring down an elected government. A union is elected by its workers. A government is elected by the whole country. She ended the closed shop because people should have the right NOT to join a Union. She ended flying pickets. People should have the right so strike outside their own workplace, but nobody else's.
People accuse Thatcher of fostering selfish society but hasn't the left just as much to blame for promoting individualism and selfishness?
You say she took away asperation but what was so asperational about labouring down a mine for your whole working life? because thats all working class people had to look forward to back then.
Im a Conservative but even I miss the Blair years. Look at the current PM, where Blair could be compared to Thatcher Brown cant even be compared to Major! Gordon Brown is worse than useless hes tired, dull has no vision and spent too amny years coverting the top job he has simply forgotten why he wanted it in the first place. Well I hope the decade of plotting is paying off Gordon. Does anyone else wonder if Blair knew what was comming and got out just at the right time?
At the time people saw the prospect of a blair/labour government as a fresh beginning and great times ahead after the dark and depressing Major years. Blairs era in power had it's ups and downs
A dark dark day for britain, the man and his dreadful wife destroyed britain beyond recognition over a decade. His legacy- 6 million not working and having an easy ride on incapacity benefit, The european criminals human rights charter and an illegal war in iraq.
If the last eleven years of a Labour government have proved anything, it is that they are and always have been best in opposition. They are certainly not the natural party of government - they have mis-managed the economy, bloated the welfare state, sold many more of our national assets to an increasingly federal Europe without so much as a flicker...i could go on. Blair was a phoney, a blagger, and as for Brown!!!
I remember feeling such a chill that day. I was an electrician then, and me and the woman in my local wholesalers talked about how this New Labour party wasn't what people thought it was, how scary the adulation was with people presuming that because it wasn't the failed Tories any more, things "could only get better". Both of us thought there were dark times ahead, neither of us predicted the horror that actually came; we'd have sounded like paranoid loons predicting the real Britain of 2008.
Certainly a major watershed in modern British politics, but once you strip away the smoke and mirrors, all of the spin and the hype which was so prevalent during this time, what exactly was there of any substance? If the past eleven years have shown anything, it is that the Labour party are not the natural party of government, just as previous Labour govts. I cannot think of one single area which is better off now than it was then.
i remember when my mum, who is a loyal labour voter, was really really happy 1 day. that was that day. at the time i was only seven so i didn't really understand politics. ah, the happy days
if a man who reckons himself to be a Christian and yet does not do as Christ directed Christians to do...can we expect that man to do what is right as prime minister?
show me a true Christian that approves of war?
if blair is a Christian, then jesus failed in his purpose.
but if he succeeded, then blair is a phony..not to say i am perfect, i just think blair is a hypocrite.
An incredible prime minister, look at the education system for example, now everyone goes to college whereas 10 years ago to an extent only the elite few got such a chance. unfortunately will be remembered for his one minor error!
He raised peoples hopes that things were going to improve. But it soon became apparent that he didnt really have a clue about how to do it. Wasted oppertunity.
Well-meaning, but entered Downing Street with little idea or real goals. Naive but televisual, obviously taken with success - Margaret Thatcher was the first of many famous people to be invited to tea. It's a shame he wasn't able to rise above his awe of GeorgeW and the US.
His disarming charm allowed him to retain some popularity way beyond his sell by date.
His wife would have made a better job. At least she showed some signs of honesty.
A sad day for Britain! All of Thatchers good worked was about to be undone. The labour party have systematicly destroyed Britan. No longer are hard working, honest people put first. Now junkies, chavs and other low life are looked after. Yes you can vote Tory if you want. But there wont be a another Thatcher!
Very mixed legacy, difficult to judge Blair so soon afterwards. One interesting comparison is with JFK, in the best and worst ways. The best was the unusually high national optimism and unity on his taking office, the worst was leading the country into a controversial and perhaps unwinnable war. (In case you're wondering, Kennedy sent the first significant numbers of US troops into Vietnam just before he died.)
The best economic stable economy for years. Not like the boom and bust of the tories. Black Wednesday, 15% interest rates, cash for questions, weakness, sleaze... Tories were a bloody disaster. No way to we want their dreadful mismanagement of our country again.
PR from start to finish, bussed in Labour supporters pretending to be the general public. He accomplished nothing in 10 years of any real worth, all you can say is that he didn't completely muck up the Tories' golden financial legacy. Then again Gordon managed that, however now his idiotic high spending, waste of money policies and 1.3 trillion debt mountain is catching up with him. Call an election Gordo, you'll lose.
You must have slept for the past 10 years to believe that nonsense, golden Tory legacy...athe truth was before Labour the economy was bankrupt and social destruction was everywhere, but then Tories never did live in reality so remarks like that are of no surprise.
i had this weird deja vu of a young jackie kennedy in england at some type of psychic's house saying she wanted to be captivating (hold people captive?) it looked like soleil moon frye and a goofy looking tony blair were there.
She is something else. I feel sorry for Tony being related to her. We must always bear in mind that it was Tony who mattered and not this idiot and all her hangers on.
What a stark contrast to Margaret Thatcher's arrival at No. 10, She in the most dignified of ways spoke of her pride at caring for her beloved Britain, while Blair strolls around like a pop star and a dictator in the making. Maggies speech's were of a calliber on a par with Churchwill while Blair struggled to match the thickest of lefty downmarket losers.
So Thatcher had more 'dignity', before ripping our country to shreds? blairs done some damage, and some good. But Thatcher was is the worst thing that ever happened to this country.
"dreamfactoryrecords" I hope that your nickname is nothing to do with the Factory record lable, not with that Thatcher loving B.S. Incidentally, Thatchers "dignity" with her overly sincere Asisi Quote was embarrasingly scary and false.
Thatcher's speaking style certainly had shades of Churchill's most serious moments, but I don't think she ever came close to his other equally-celebrated side, his humour and wit. Churchill knew the rhetorical value of making fun of himself occasionally, but I haven't ever heard of Thatcher joking about her failures. I'd say Blair (and Major for that matter) were better at self-mockery, so they came across as more human when they spoke.
Blair pulled Britain out of the mess that the conservatives had put it in. 10% inflation under John Major and now we've barely gone over 3% in 10 years! He wasn't perfect, but he was certainly the best PM this country's had in a very long time.
Tony Blair was an excellent PM. Serving 10yrs and 54 days. Gordon Brown won't reach nowhere near 10yrs. I thinked that John Prescott or John Reid should have been the next PM.
It is funny that Maragrett Beckett, John Reid and John Prescott all go to backbench as soon as Tony Blair resigns. Also Charles Clark resigned last yearr, because he didn't want Tony Blair to leave.
People were saying that John Reid would have won the leadership if he was campaigning lol.
It made me sad to watch question time without tony..I was frowning on the inside the whole time, it just didn't seem right....Gordon wasn't all bad for his first shot and I'm sure he's a fine person, but it just wasn't right.
Nearly everyone smiled on this day in 1997, even those of us who didn't vote Labour, like me. Now he has gone, MPs appreciate him, some people cheer and some like me, feel bereft. And how boring politics seems today. Blair is a brilliant politician and PM. Google Keep Tony Blair for PM.
you have no idea do you, i bet your a conservative, one of the same conservatives that put the country in the horrible state it was in, before new labour took over. this country has never had it so good
Here, here! I'll never forget that day it was very exciting and fantastic! I was 19 years old and voted for the first time, having lived all my Childhood under the Tory scum I voted Labour for change, having lived under Thatcher and greed I will allways vote Labour untill the day I die!
Well they always look like that when they leave. Margaret Thatcher looked really washed-out and tired when she left after nearly 12 years, and John Major just looked like an out of touch old man. Happens to all of them -- I don't know how Gordon Brown could look even like a wreck than he does now, but I'm sure he will.
Sorry for not responding to your comment, I wasn't meaning to be rude - I don't usually check if someone writes a response to me. Thanks, I shall subscribe.
You say there's more on the way... do you have any more clips from this 1997 election, more specific any clips of Peter Snow using the swingometer and of other BBC graphics.
Have you got GB's entrance? Come on t4change your slipping lol.. Anyway he has not even started his PM ship but he's already getting ripped apart - Mainly for his looks. I dont think theres anything wrong with his appearance, He's down to earth. I know he's more at comfort with a brew and a good book., than a celeb party. Which is what we want!
the day he entered num 10, was when this country went to the dogs!, bet those people cheering him are now thinking, " what a bunch of mugs we were ..!"
BigglesBast09 2 years ago 2
he beeten john mayjor in the election
dim432 2 years ago
I remember it very well back in '97 when Blair and his New Labour party won the election....there was a fresh breeze of optimism for the future and for a while the British public warmed to Blaire...but it all started to go down-hill when Blaire got Britain involved in Iraq...he should've kept-out and left it for the yanks to sort out
9thprotocol 2 years ago 4
You are right, I remember that too.
h792 2 years ago
Im from america and i would like to know how long after election day does the new prime minster enter Number 10?
newsflash903 2 years ago
The day after the election.
cheesegoduk 2 years ago
the next day after the new prime minister meets with the Queen and the Queen will inform the new pm to form a new government.
tableconnect 2 years ago
I never voted for him as I knew it would end in tears - him and Brown have royally screwed my kids' futures.
Buggsy61 2 years ago
Why is he wearing a blue tie? That set the tone for his wohle premiership where he did nothing much but continue with the same old Tory policies
mattrwsmith 2 years ago 2
No, people need to vote UKIP.
All these main parties are traitors to the country. Seving the EU super state.
Wake up people!
ocean3da 2 years ago
And Little did anyone know what lied inhead for the British public with Blair in office for 10 years labour surly but steadly destroyed the country once again after the 70s why oh why didnt we vote for tories in the last election its almost a joke that ppl believe all labours lies DO NOT make the same mistake next year and vote for Coservaties
billiejones25 2 years ago
This is the same as in America with Obama. Indirectly the same people get elected every time, a con that one must consider.
thefayed 2 years ago
stupid opening rofl
fablepwnr 2 years ago
what has Labour got to lose too?, some smarmey toff thats who, just what is the point of voting for ANY of the mainstream parties
leftywest 2 years ago
and look at labour now...
teddy44855 2 years ago 7
Comment removed
antonjon1 2 years ago
If only we knew then what we know now. Labour has deceived the people, destroyed the country, and is continuing with its dictatorship. CALL AN ELECTION GORDON BROWN - YOU UNELECTED DICTATOR!
neferinit 2 years ago 5
labour is going to lose the next election
ChiefRedSkins 2 years ago 8
The liar entering the palace of lies,.
Viva la revolucion !
lpankhurst 2 years ago 3
Looking back at this, the hope and the joy, who now feels so let down by Labour?
Erech01 2 years ago
I didn't vote for him as I knew what was coming... and it did.
dtango 2 years ago 2
You saw it, i was far too young eve ntoo vote, this Labour govt. has completly abandoned my generation and criminalised it! I vote for the first time this year, and Labour will not begetting it.
Erech01 2 years ago
The beggining of the end.
BNPvoter 2 years ago
Funny that everyone complains about the Iraq war without remembering Blair's great achievements...
bkpk18 3 years ago
Who would have thouht that 12 years later we would be hoping for a conservative government.
aeronuk1 3 years ago 2
I know, that day marked the beginning of a slope that would dismantle and destroy Britain to the state that it is now society and economy alike, I think we will have our Conservative government next time round, who wants bighead brown in?
woodpigeon2008 3 years ago
Speak for yourself.
bkpk18 3 years ago
What's the difference? Will people ever learn? It is time people stopped voting out the government and stared voting one in.
DeltaNC 3 years ago
Blair was one of if not the greatest prime minister this country has ever had. how can any think he was a bad one, no one remember Thatcher
leppyp 3 years ago
well said
cncxgrinder 3 years ago
Yes which is why we think he is such a bad PM
cjr897 3 years ago
No one can remember Thatcher?
How much crack have you consumed?
Reazzurro90 2 years ago
The start of a tragedy, the full effects of which are now becoming all too apparent.
Buggsy61 3 years ago
Blair changed the constitution on the back of an envelope. He was the worst Primeminister this country ever had, including Edward Heath and Gordon Brown.
harryj79 3 years ago
Okay war in Iraq was a mistake but no one is telling the iraq people to kill each other. It's not Bush or Blair who is committing suicide and killing all the innocent Iraqies. Iraq people should stop slaughtering each other. War in Iraq ended within 3 weeks. Most of the iraqies died after the war ended. By the way Saddam was not worth living. He was like Stalin.
KoSoVaAnGeL 3 years ago
you're right
ngai1842 3 years ago
Tony Blair is better than anyone reading this comment. period.
DaYo0 3 years ago 2
Time 4 Change? I wholeheartedly agree - the country has had quite enough of Labour . The sooner we have people in power who can actually govern the better things will be.
boredreiver 3 years ago
Im sorry but the last Tory PM could hardly even govern his own cabinet.
Dougmacked 3 years ago
The last Tory PM couldnt even govern his own cabinet, let alone the country
Dougmacked 3 years ago
I was reminded of this after the response to the Obama victory
guestforking 3 years ago
hmmm ... this is eerily like Obama's inauguration ... when will we learn.
ScootleRoyale 3 years ago
What an ass, blair and the one on the start of this video, looks like a typical yuppie new Labour twat. I think history will treat mr blair far worse than mrs thatcher, he was such a let down, vain and currupt, I and many others made a silly mistake in '97, part of me wishes id voted for major. He was a good man. Sad day in British history this.
tris7 3 years ago
worst day ever
omegadoom1989 3 years ago 2
What a bunch of idiots waving their little flags & clapping. Whoopeeeedooooooooo
blingb1tch 3 years ago
Yeah, the kind of squares that punk went up against. They still delusional it is the empire days, Britain is a world power and Prime Ministers have the format of Churchill.
RationalEmotive 3 years ago
Actually they were all leftists with no interest in patriotism, the flags were dished out by Labour party HQ.
antonjon1 3 years ago
Tony Blair & George Bush have been a disaster for this world this is what happens when bible bashing lunatics get to the top..
drfarenheight 3 years ago
Silly and vain little man.
buffboydan 3 years ago
have you no footage of gordon brown after the public voted for him to get in number 10?
tartantess 3 years ago
The morons who voted this clown into power have now got everything they deserved. It's just a shame that the Great Britain we once knew is now lost forever under a sea of immigration, financial ruin, crime, obesity and apathy.
YooTrain 3 years ago
Tony Bliars legacy.Anothet 2 British Soldiers Dead.
Dave68Goliath 3 years ago
for what
iran also owned those sailors who were captured paraded them on their own tv and made them capitulate and let them go on their own terms
so much for great britain
8data 3 years ago
Blair will always be a legend...
wef14a 3 years ago
wow this is so much less pompous and ostentatious that american inaugural ceremonies!
dolcecherise 3 years ago 2
I know, they need to increase the budget for celebrations or a better P.R. team. After all, it is an important day that deserves a little bit of pompousity. On the other hand, I live in America...and we love to party..
vivelavidarocka 3 years ago
parliamentary system is better-best form of government.
8data 3 years ago
If only those people knew what was going to happen. TAX TAX TAX SPIN SPIN SPIN
webboffin 3 years ago 2
The only good thing about this is the flags. Having said that I think it's really unBritish to orchestrate loads of people to wave flags and cheer for a party leader. This is not North Korea.
hernhillrebel 3 years ago
The worst day of Britains history
SuperSonicSnails 3 years ago
they were treated as gods back then god i was DAFT !
103webster 3 years ago 2
Wow, 1997 really does seem like so long ago. 11 years, but it feels like 30.
moshabee 3 years ago
What a day that was, so much hope in the air.
I never had many illusions in Blair, I knew it was going to be an awful government but I still dared to hope that things really would get better.
Who'd have thought back then that we would end up with something even WORSE than the government that preceded it?
hughjorgan111 3 years ago
What a mess this country is in thanks to Maggie and her admirer + betrayer of socialism Blair. Now it's the end of Thatcherism, and look where it got us..
mizofan 3 years ago
happy days apart from the war he was the best pm we had in years better than that cow thatcher
labour has changed too much if ur white&working class&english theres no one to vote for the torys tried to destroy us&will again labours only cares about the ethnic &middle class &welsh&scottish voters as for the lib dems forgett it
londonkev22 3 years ago
what a mess this country is in thanks to him and the labour party
leap2jump 3 years ago
James Alexander
BozenaKnebortova 3 years ago
the introducing voice is really annoying
jmurray 3 years ago 9
I agree, its too nasal.
naughtyplanet 3 years ago
Why?
BozenaKnebortova 3 years ago
co to je?
BozenaKnebortova 3 years ago
Why?
BozenaKnebortova 3 years ago
Silly fools.
Uberdude25 3 years ago
tony BLIAR!
tompointzero 3 years ago
A tys nikdy v životě nelhal, třeba když si mamince rozflákal hrníček a nechtěls jí to říct???????
BozenaKnebortova 3 years ago
"Things can only get better" Hah!
Bubo25 3 years ago 3
This was 1997, fool
robmunro1989 3 years ago
How can they have messed up so bad? Andyok87, the only reason people may look more kindly on tony Blair is because Gordon brown is such a fuck-up.
TOFULLEFFECT 3 years ago
Blair and new labour, what a joke.
ewhi1 3 years ago
Dimbley, as always, ruins it with his boring sarcastic voice.
54spiritedwill54 3 years ago
History will look more kindly on Blair I think.
Andyok87 3 years ago
Well, we may live in a more prosperous country with marginally better public services, but surely nobody can say we are a happier or more cohesive society than in 1997.
antonjon1 3 years ago 2
We want Tony back!
mick623 3 years ago
thanks to this sham of a labour government me and alot of decent people in this great country now live in a degenerative society where there are bad mannered ppl, dolites druggies and scum going round knifing ppl and getting rewarded for it, election 2010 if cameron wins and labour lose alot of seats ill crack that bottle of bubly open and spray it round the room and im sure alot of other people will to, roll on 2010, labour the end is nigh :-)
dave1601 3 years ago
ha and you'll get more of the same i promise you, what's more if people continue to vote for the established parties they will deserve everything they get.
ie More Immigration
More European laws
More Multiculturalism
There is virtually no difference between Liebour and the torys, they have their noses in the same trough.
18 years of the tories everyone wants labour, 11 years of labour everyone wants tories, we're just going to keep going round and round in a downward spiral
iollo 3 years ago 4
james callaghan best british prime minister of all time
69Bluntsmoka420 3 years ago
It's like the ending celebrations in Return of the Jedi.
EdwardJamesOldmos 3 years ago
Labour have become the worst party ever
unrealharry 3 years ago
tory in disguise!!!!
bynot1 3 years ago
tory in disguise
bynot1 3 years ago
It's interesting how the whole country is now calling for the return of the good old days when Tony Blair was PM.
Oh those halycon days of Tony and Cherie.
tomme1981 3 years ago 2
Blair was not a great pm. Brown was not a great Chancellor. They inherited a good economy thanks to Mrs Thatcher's painful reforms. Why should i work and pay hge amouts of tax to peole who dont deserve it. Labour is the party for dole dossers, junkies, and immigrants!
80sadam 3 years ago 2
you're wrong! the tories built bubble economies - yeah, they grew but then they burst! What Labour achieved during Blair's time was economic stablility! that was their greatest economic success
lichenxu123 3 years ago 3
They were just lucky that it was a time of growth in the world economy. They also created growth through a huge increase in public spending that will have to be paid for by us and our children and our grandchildren. Labour have raped this country, created huge social problems and left a damining legacy that will take at least a decade to put right.
Buggsy61 3 years ago
Don't Blame The Government For The Social Problem That Is A Human Problem Not A Government Problem Anyway What Do You Mean
The Labour Government Has Raped His Country
They Haven't This Country Is Booming If You Want Somebody To Blame For Today's Crisis Blame MG Rover They Axed 6000 Jobs And Ever Since That Employers Have Jumped On The Band Wagon By Making People Unemployed
Ultrazord115 3 years ago
The many many many social problems were caused by Thatcher. She took away society, encouraging people to look after number 1, taking away the self policing that comes with society. She took away aspiration, opportunity and belonging for many people, were once was a union culture for example now stands a drug/unemployment culture. She ripped apart many communities, such as the coal communities, without any help to recover, leaving communities in tatters...
stdomingoesfc 3 years ago
Thatcher didn't cause social problems. Our social problems were borne out of the 1960's sexual and cultural revolution, started by Harold Wilson and helped by the propaganda at the BBC.
Mrs Thatcher allowed the poor to buy their own houses. She allowed them to buy shares in the companies they worked for. She killed inflation which hurts the poor more than it hurts the rich. She tipped teh balance in favour of teh employee rather than the Union.
Mickmars90 2 years ago
Are you telling me it is right that a Union should have the power to bring down an elected government. A union is elected by its workers. A government is elected by the whole country. She ended the closed shop because people should have the right NOT to join a Union. She ended flying pickets. People should have the right so strike outside their own workplace, but nobody else's.
Mickmars90 2 years ago
People accuse Thatcher of fostering selfish society but hasn't the left just as much to blame for promoting individualism and selfishness?
You say she took away asperation but what was so asperational about labouring down a mine for your whole working life? because thats all working class people had to look forward to back then.
buffboydan 2 years ago
I always forget how good he was for a while, everyone loved him, where did it all go wrong.. Oh never mind I remember.
psycho333 3 years ago 3
Sheeple. lol
John Major was much better, he was a true gent and honest too.
McCain 08.
richardrichard07 3 years ago
Check out the 'Before & After' photographs of Tony Blair the day he entered office and the day he left... it's scary how much he aged.
LyncathDJ 3 years ago
there is a major difference between this and maggies 1979 acceptance. is it a more hungry media or politicians pure vanity!
nicholasraymond 3 years ago
Im a Conservative but even I miss the Blair years. Look at the current PM, where Blair could be compared to Thatcher Brown cant even be compared to Major! Gordon Brown is worse than useless hes tired, dull has no vision and spent too amny years coverting the top job he has simply forgotten why he wanted it in the first place. Well I hope the decade of plotting is paying off Gordon. Does anyone else wonder if Blair knew what was comming and got out just at the right time?
wakeylad81 3 years ago 4
same. conservative as well. Blair did a great job, but brown is a joke. I can't wait for brown to be ousted, and cameron entered number 10
wtanoto 3 years ago
Now lets do the scene again in 2007/2008. Crowds will be there for very different reasons.
All the government and Mayor are able to do is discover new ways of taking citizens money.
And lol the guy in the suit at4:10-4:13 is thinking "who the fuck told the policeman to go in"
AdamClarkson 3 years ago
At the time people saw the prospect of a blair/labour government as a fresh beginning and great times ahead after the dark and depressing Major years. Blairs era in power had it's ups and downs
UKRThracian 3 years ago 3
A dark dark day for britain, the man and his dreadful wife destroyed britain beyond recognition over a decade. His legacy- 6 million not working and having an easy ride on incapacity benefit, The european criminals human rights charter and an illegal war in iraq.
mattdavies1971 3 years ago
At least Britain has learnt a lesson. All leaders now should be treated with suspicion and contempt.
jayjaysee83 3 years ago
What a Sad Day for the U.K
ORION1175 3 years ago 3
I think Blair was more Thatcherite than John Major. And I suspect that Margaret Thatcher would agree.
Chaffinch4 3 years ago 5
If the last eleven years of a Labour government have proved anything, it is that they are and always have been best in opposition. They are certainly not the natural party of government - they have mis-managed the economy, bloated the welfare state, sold many more of our national assets to an increasingly federal Europe without so much as a flicker...i could go on. Blair was a phoney, a blagger, and as for Brown!!!
morgansifer82 3 years ago
I remember feeling such a chill that day. I was an electrician then, and me and the woman in my local wholesalers talked about how this New Labour party wasn't what people thought it was, how scary the adulation was with people presuming that because it wasn't the failed Tories any more, things "could only get better". Both of us thought there were dark times ahead, neither of us predicted the horror that actually came; we'd have sounded like paranoid loons predicting the real Britain of 2008.
jaxxstraw 3 years ago
1997 - seemed such a time of optimism.
We couldn't have been more wrong.
I absolutely hate what Labour has become and I hate what this government did by taking this country into war.
capricious71 4 years ago
1997 - seemed such a time of optimism.
We couldn't have been more wrong.
I absolutely hate what Labour has become and I hate what this government did by taking this country into war.
capricious71 4 years ago
Certainly a major watershed in modern British politics, but once you strip away the smoke and mirrors, all of the spin and the hype which was so prevalent during this time, what exactly was there of any substance? If the past eleven years have shown anything, it is that the Labour party are not the natural party of government, just as previous Labour govts. I cannot think of one single area which is better off now than it was then.
morgansifer82 4 years ago
MEET THE NEW BOSS, SAME AS THE OLD BOSS.
zid00001 4 years ago
i remember when my mum, who is a loyal labour voter, was really really happy 1 day. that was that day. at the time i was only seven so i didn't really understand politics. ah, the happy days
thecultofjonnybighed 4 years ago
if a man who reckons himself to be a Christian and yet does not do as Christ directed Christians to do...can we expect that man to do what is right as prime minister?
show me a true Christian that approves of war?
if blair is a Christian, then jesus failed in his purpose.
but if he succeeded, then blair is a phony..not to say i am perfect, i just think blair is a hypocrite.
bigbreadeaterellis 4 years ago
He was certainly not a bad prime minister. He made massive mistakes, but still did as well as any mortal human being could be expected to.
tomsega 4 years ago
Dimbley, as always, ruins it with his boring sarcastic voice.
danny88101 4 years ago
An incredible prime minister, look at the education system for example, now everyone goes to college whereas 10 years ago to an extent only the elite few got such a chance. unfortunately will be remembered for his one minor error!
mrpatrickhannon 4 years ago
He raised peoples hopes that things were going to improve. But it soon became apparent that he didnt really have a clue about how to do it. Wasted oppertunity.
antonjon1 4 years ago
Well-meaning, but entered Downing Street with little idea or real goals. Naive but televisual, obviously taken with success - Margaret Thatcher was the first of many famous people to be invited to tea. It's a shame he wasn't able to rise above his awe of GeorgeW and the US.
His disarming charm allowed him to retain some popularity way beyond his sell by date.
His wife would have made a better job. At least she showed some signs of honesty.
hipflasks 4 years ago
Blair was a failure. Britain is a worse place to live now than in 1997.
aeronuk1 4 years ago
Tony was a god prime minister but he made one big mistake (Iraq) therefore not many people respect him for how amazing he really was.
ene92 4 years ago
A sad day for Britain! All of Thatchers good worked was about to be undone. The labour party have systematicly destroyed Britan. No longer are hard working, honest people put first. Now junkies, chavs and other low life are looked after. Yes you can vote Tory if you want. But there wont be a another Thatcher!
80sadam 4 years ago
HAHAHA, you seem to certainly know what you're talking about. How did Tony Blair 'destroy' Britain?! Have you been living under a rock somewhere?
Also what was Thatchers 'good work'?
Terrible maybe, or dangerous, but I fail to find the 'good work'
shabbadabdaba 4 years ago 3
Major undone Thatchers 'work'. Blair just ruined the labour party!
russ399 4 years ago
dont forget he ruined the country aswell
minimotogrc 4 years ago
Very mixed legacy, difficult to judge Blair so soon afterwards. One interesting comparison is with JFK, in the best and worst ways. The best was the unusually high national optimism and unity on his taking office, the worst was leading the country into a controversial and perhaps unwinnable war. (In case you're wondering, Kennedy sent the first significant numbers of US troops into Vietnam just before he died.)
nokiagaming 4 years ago
Kennedy didn't start Vietnam, and I'm sure he was against it aswell.
ManlySlut 4 years ago
Bring the Tories Back!
Autobahn2006 4 years ago
He had some good moments and some not so good ones. It is a shame people will only remember Tony for Iraq.
Braveheart1984 4 years ago 4
Absolutely Agree "Braveheart1984"
RuNRi0TUK 4 years ago 3
Unfortunately it is the Iraq debacle that will affect the global climate for decades to come.
Gibbo118 4 years ago
The best economic stable economy for years. Not like the boom and bust of the tories. Black Wednesday, 15% interest rates, cash for questions, weakness, sleaze... Tories were a bloody disaster. No way to we want their dreadful mismanagement of our country again.
mrbluesky1uk 4 years ago 2
PR from start to finish, bussed in Labour supporters pretending to be the general public. He accomplished nothing in 10 years of any real worth, all you can say is that he didn't completely muck up the Tories' golden financial legacy. Then again Gordon managed that, however now his idiotic high spending, waste of money policies and 1.3 trillion debt mountain is catching up with him. Call an election Gordo, you'll lose.
gregorhop 4 years ago
You must have slept for the past 10 years to believe that nonsense, golden Tory legacy...athe truth was before Labour the economy was bankrupt and social destruction was everywhere, but then Tories never did live in reality so remarks like that are of no surprise.
cyberunit 4 years ago 2
Tony you are a great Sate Man, wish all sate mans been like. GoD Bless YOU and YOUR family
eltonbella 4 years ago
i had this weird deja vu of a young jackie kennedy in england at some type of psychic's house saying she wanted to be captivating (hold people captive?) it looked like soleil moon frye and a goofy looking tony blair were there.
deritpeehs 4 years ago
Is it true that cherie blair never curtsied to the Queen? If so does that mean that her husband will not accept a life peerage?
adelgado75 4 years ago
Who knows adelgado75. All i know is that the media try to make The Blairs look like idiots.
HildaMinogue 4 years ago
She is something else. I feel sorry for Tony being related to her. We must always bear in mind that it was Tony who mattered and not this idiot and all her hangers on.
tonysgorgous 4 years ago
great tony......
tulvox 4 years ago
What a stark contrast to Margaret Thatcher's arrival at No. 10, She in the most dignified of ways spoke of her pride at caring for her beloved Britain, while Blair strolls around like a pop star and a dictator in the making. Maggies speech's were of a calliber on a par with Churchwill while Blair struggled to match the thickest of lefty downmarket losers.
dreamfactoryrecords 4 years ago
So Thatcher had more 'dignity', before ripping our country to shreds? blairs done some damage, and some good. But Thatcher was is the worst thing that ever happened to this country.
scotty686 4 years ago
"dreamfactoryrecords" I hope that your nickname is nothing to do with the Factory record lable, not with that Thatcher loving B.S. Incidentally, Thatchers "dignity" with her overly sincere Asisi Quote was embarrasingly scary and false.
HildaMinogue 4 years ago
Thatcher's speaking style certainly had shades of Churchill's most serious moments, but I don't think she ever came close to his other equally-celebrated side, his humour and wit. Churchill knew the rhetorical value of making fun of himself occasionally, but I haven't ever heard of Thatcher joking about her failures. I'd say Blair (and Major for that matter) were better at self-mockery, so they came across as more human when they spoke.
nokiagaming 4 years ago 3
Blair pulled Britain out of the mess that the conservatives had put it in. 10% inflation under John Major and now we've barely gone over 3% in 10 years! He wasn't perfect, but he was certainly the best PM this country's had in a very long time.
lolharbandhar 4 years ago
Tony Blair was an excellent PM. Serving 10yrs and 54 days. Gordon Brown won't reach nowhere near 10yrs. I thinked that John Prescott or John Reid should have been the next PM.
It is funny that Maragrett Beckett, John Reid and John Prescott all go to backbench as soon as Tony Blair resigns. Also Charles Clark resigned last yearr, because he didn't want Tony Blair to leave.
People were saying that John Reid would have won the leadership if he was campaigning lol.
jamaicarussa 4 years ago
It made me sad to watch question time without tony..I was frowning on the inside the whole time, it just didn't seem right....Gordon wasn't all bad for his first shot and I'm sure he's a fine person, but it just wasn't right.
malpal80 4 years ago
Nearly everyone smiled on this day in 1997, even those of us who didn't vote Labour, like me. Now he has gone, MPs appreciate him, some people cheer and some like me, feel bereft. And how boring politics seems today. Blair is a brilliant politician and PM. Google Keep Tony Blair for PM.
BlairSupporter 4 years ago
Ive always liked Gordon and I think people must give him a chance. Let him settle before you pull him to peices. Have faith. :)
HildaMinogue 4 years ago
1997, the year Britain got a loser in office and 10 years later the country is in a poor state.
callmewilson 4 years ago
No it isn't.
brandonherrick223 4 years ago
you have no idea do you, i bet your a conservative, one of the same conservatives that put the country in the horrible state it was in, before new labour took over. this country has never had it so good
richardayton 4 years ago
Here, here! I'll never forget that day it was very exciting and fantastic! I was 19 years old and voted for the first time, having lived all my Childhood under the Tory scum I voted Labour for change, having lived under Thatcher and greed I will allways vote Labour untill the day I die!
bert031078 4 years ago
You're having a laugh!
EdZep123 4 years ago
A great moment for Tony Blair, his party and the UK.
WRITER1989 4 years ago
What a beautiful moment-when it actually happened I was crying like a baby for joy
patrick180271 4 years ago
tory blur.
HGtibby 4 years ago
Tony Blair what a great man.
paulmstratford2010 4 years ago 2
I will miss Tony alot!!! He was Britain's best PM. But what made others upse is the Iraq! Why in America, people are not really upset with Bush?
jamaicarussa 4 years ago 2
Wow, ten years. He looks 20 years older now. It's lucky he looked so young then.
We'll miss you, Tony!
ammerocks 4 years ago
Well they always look like that when they leave. Margaret Thatcher looked really washed-out and tired when she left after nearly 12 years, and John Major just looked like an out of touch old man. Happens to all of them -- I don't know how Gordon Brown could look even like a wreck than he does now, but I'm sure he will.
Interesting clip by the way!
lblythe01 4 years ago
Thanks. Why not subscribe? There is more on the way...
t4change 4 years ago
Sorry for not responding to your comment, I wasn't meaning to be rude - I don't usually check if someone writes a response to me. Thanks, I shall subscribe.
You say there's more on the way... do you have any more clips from this 1997 election, more specific any clips of Peter Snow using the swingometer and of other BBC graphics.
lblythe01 4 years ago
Have you got GB's entrance? Come on t4change your slipping lol.. Anyway he has not even started his PM ship but he's already getting ripped apart - Mainly for his looks. I dont think theres anything wrong with his appearance, He's down to earth. I know he's more at comfort with a brew and a good book., than a celeb party. Which is what we want!
HildaMinogue 4 years ago
There'll be even more rejoicing when he moves out!
ric55 4 years ago
Ahhh, those where the days, when you actually felt proud to vote for Labour...isn't he sweet, just look at his smile...ahh, bless his cotton socks
Jdevoy1 4 years ago