The Troubled Tale of Tony Blair: Rise and Legacy 

100% agree with your conclusion. The decline of trust in government and in society is probably the largest problem we face today that creates all the other ones. And I don’t know how to fix it. Trust is something built up slowly, over time but the decline of trust makes the election of untrustworthy people who will continue to lie more likely. It’s a vicious cycle.

So glad to see that you’re uploading regularly again. I remember watching your videos when I was studying politics at high school, now I work in Parliament :). Keep up the good work!

Consider hitting the bell next to the 'subscribe' button so you don't miss an upload. I do feel a bit adrift with the algorithm since taking breaks to focus on career and health, so your support in this way is very meaningful to me. Have a good day!

Great choice of guest. Do plug in guests more often if you can (even repeat guests like Professor Steinhorn), it's enjoyable listening to them as well.

A thought: did the fact that Canada's Jean Chrétien refusal to join Irak War, despite the relationship with both the UK and the USA, delayed the populist response/ turn ?

Just started diving into the video, but wanted to say I love your content.

Amazing work! Thank you

I think you overstate how left-wing the pre-Blair party was. The Labour Right held considerable power within the party for most of the post-war period (barring Michael Foot's short premiership) with Hugh Gaitskell seeking to get rid of Clause IV in the 1950s. Indeed, Jim Callaghan, the last Labour PM before Blair criminalised cannabis as Home Secretary, embraced monetarism and rightist critiques of comprehensive education.

As somebody who was born the week blair was voted in im grateful for some of his domestic work especially in education but I hope history will never judge him kindly due to what's come after him

I was watching a livestream from our friend Mr Beat the other day, and someone asked him if he would rank the British Prime Ministers, he responded with words to the effect of "no I'm not the right person. I understand the feeling that it's weird to tell someone else's history like you expressed here, but I also feel there is room for both. An internal perspective might be easier and more naturally well-informed, they might pick up on nuances that fly over the heads of those from outside. But an external perspective can view a topic with fresh eyes that aren't clouded by the author's own political interests or history, done well this can result in a higher level but more balanced piece of media. And, also from my also external perspective, I think you did well here.

Good video, a bit long. Nicely presented.

Much love, some of the best produced and well read history content I have in my feed. Hope you keep posting will continue to hype ur content to everyone who vaguely mentions they have a mild interest in history.

Exceptional commentary on modern British politics and the acts of a War Criminal

It’s sad that Blair’s record is overshadowed by Iraq. If he hadn’t joined that mess he would’ve gone down as one of the best prime ministers of all time.

Great video. I have a saying. If I’m not sure how to vote, see how Tony is voting, and vote the other way. He and Clinton are the root cause of situation today

‘Miranda’, Bow St. Magistrates Court 1983

Great Fabian refers to the Fabian society btw

His finest hour the Good Friday Agreement April 1998 Northern Ireland

Interesting to see an American cover Blair.

Trotsky's whole thing was armed interventions for political revolution lmao

I think you are overestimating the ability of authoritarian regimes to suppress dissent. While I kinda agree the bar might be higher for democratic systems, the "failure" point, depending on how you define it is arguably also much higher. Its kind of a trade off problem, you gain short term stability but are vulnerable to breaking point events. Like to Soviet Union imploded after the government opened up and the fact that the government lies and was incompetent, which was always known on some level was sorta known, became fact and that damaged trust so much that it broke the system. The Vietnam and Iraq war, as damaging as they were, didnt cause the system to collapse and forced the creation of a new state and while there are systemic problems with trusts in western systems now, there is still somewhat a sense that there could be something after, though that is getting smaller. The authoritarian systems on the other hand, as someone who lives in a place that is definitely more on that spectrum, is short term stable but they are like that cause they are constantly paranoid, always afraid of something that is coming to challenge their power and therefore suppresses everything constantly. They have no idea what they will do in the event they might fail and can is very difficult to pivot. What I do think is happening in Western democracies is that the system has becoming stagnant and arguably complacent in a way. The idea that you can always replace the bad leaders has become kinda a crutch to ignore problems and politics has kinda become just about the government and the state and when the tools you have dont work people loses confidence and like you say will look for something else. The decline of trade unions is a arguably the biggest symptoms of this.

The difficulty I have with this, is that from the 'go-get' your commentary is delivered in a derisory, mocking tone; so even if you have some intelligent points to make they dissipate amidst the smirking and puffed up sneers.

Interesting. In the US a stroke boosts your political career.

After praying together Bush and Blair decided invasion was the right thing to do...

I think you can make the case that the falsely justified Iraq war marked the start of the decline of the legitimacy of the post-ww2 world order - the UN and related institutions nominally upholding the highest moral values. See what Russia is doing in Ukraine, and what Israel's Govt is getting away with in Gaza. Blair was an extraordinarily gifted politician who could have delivered a lot more good for UK snd the world - but squandered his career. Good to see you making content again. I recall your work with Kristi Winters around 2012 I think.

Unusual video for you to make GothamChess, but go off King

BLAIR SHOULD BE IN PRSION .

'promosm'

Blair opened the floodgates to all and sundry.

The reason for Blair's landslide victory in 1997 was not as history seems to have recorded. A large part of it was due to poll tax defaulters returning to the electoral register and voting against the party that introduced it. Blair also be remembered for what appears to be a wilful attempt to destroy the Great Britain and its values by the following means: 1. The creation of the Welsh and Scottish parliaments, 2. The open borders immigration policy, 3. His attempts to overturn the 2016 referendum result, 4. constitutional changes such as the abolition of the position of Lord Chancellor, the elected council and Mayor of London 5. Changes to the House of Lords including stacking the House with his own choices and 6. incorporation of the European Convention of Human Rights into British Law. The "managed decline" of Britain looks very much more like a deliberate ideology of destruction pushed as far as possible by the man who abolished the death penalty for treason committed by government officials.