I often want to condemn this government and David Cameron, everything that they do. But having worked in number 10, I know that the brain reality of government is that it's very tough. Ten years later from now, if we are here talking about problems with education, national health service, I will still be complaining and blaming Tony Blair. The reason I object to your book, Tom, is that I don't think it's a public service to portray a person and an entire government of being evil and wrong when the truth is much more complex than that. And actually, people need to read about the truth, not just to read things that they're entertaining and pander to their prejudices.
Tony Blair is the man who reinvented Labour, won a landslide majority in 1997 and went on to win three elections, becoming Labour’s longest-serving prime minister. He is also the man accused of lies, hubris, money-making deals and taking us into an illegal war.
This episode features a live event which Intelligence Squared hosted in London in March 2016, when we put Tony Blair on trial and examined his legacy on foreign policy, health, education and much more.
Levelling charges against him was Tom Bower, investigative journalist and author of Broken Vows: Tony Blair and the Tragedy of Power. Defending him was the journalist and Times columnist David Aaronovitch.
This event was originally produced by Hannah Kaye. This series was produced by Farah Jassat and Catharine Hughes, with editing and artwork from Catharine Hughes. Music is by Lesfm.
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