This fresh-faced, very earnest young man arrived at 10 Downing Street due, in part, to having managed to untether the Labour party from the Socialist policies which had made it unelectable.
   But a major contribution to his success was 'not being the Tories' as the governing party had grown slack and sleazy through 18 years in office and as a result of inadequate safeguards against corruption.
   A large section of the electorate wanted to see the back of John Major & Co. because they were fed up with the same old screw-ups by the same old Tory faces.
   How ironic it is that the man who promised to be purer than pure while trying to wrap himself in Lady Thatcher's successes should end his career as a raddled old political tart; as someone dipped to the eyeballs in lies, corruption and sleaze.
   How ironic it is that a man who was ever ready to apologize for every single one of his country's imagined past misdemeanours never saw the disgrace in his own crimes against the British people; the most serious of which was driving his country into George W. Bush's war against Iraq on the basis of outright lies and evidence of weapon of mass destruction manufactured by Blair's spin doctor with the connivance of the leaders of Britain's "Intelligence community".

Blair carried on to the end insisting that everyone thought he had done the right thing, and that he was viewed as a combination of Lady Thatcher, Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa, with a touch of Eric Clapton thrown in for good measure. Everyone else; those able to voice an honest opinion; saw a corrupt liar, who postured, failed and moved on to another disaster. He became the first prime minister ever to be interviewed (several times) by the Old Bill following the exposure of New Labour's policy of selling honours for donations and loans to the party.
   His story is a lesson in how to cling on to political power when the opposition is non-existent. His legacy is a graphic account of how not to do the job of prime minister and how not to govern a country ably and honestly.
   His story illustrates the perils for a democracy when its leader has no beliefs, no sense of direction, no respect for the democratic process and no sense of shame. Welcome to the world of a man who thinks that drawing a line under his failures is an acceptable way of making everything okay and allowing him to move on to the next shambles.

Anyone looking for the true legacy of New Labour need look no farther than the riots of the summer of 2011. A man who was the target of a Metropolitan police operation against guns and drugs was shot dead during an arrest operation. His "community" rioted, stole everything they could lay their hands upon and burnt down shops and homes.
   The rioting spread to other parts of the country, including Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham. Looters operated under the noses of police "services", which had been emasculated by New Labour's cult of bogus human rights and which were led by senior officers who had bought into New Labour's culture of a society without responsibility and blame.
   The Labour party and its allies at the BBC called the riots a direct consequence of "Tory" cuts in public spending – cuts which had not yet been made! Its apologists ignored the uncomfortable truth that New Labour's 13 years of reckless spending under Blair then Brown had drive the economy into bankruptcy and left a mountain of debt which will be a burden for at least a generation.
   Meanwhile, Tony Blair continues to strut the world stage, pretending to be bringing peace to the Middle East whilst he rakes in £20 million per year (or maybe even more) to support his vast property empire. He also thinks he is a suitable candidate for the office of President of Europe. But maybe he doesn't realize that should he assume that office, he would then be located somewhere handy for the War Crimes Court at The Hague.
   Update 2012 : It is said that those whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first drive mad. Tony Blair is making no secret of his desire to be prime minister again. He has been tapping up the Labour party's fundraisers, hob-nobbing with journalists, chatting up senior politicians of all persuasions and making appearances on BBC TV shows.
   He reckons that he didn't know enough to do the job properly the first time around but he'll do better now. And he doesn't have the spectre of Gordon Broon glowering constantly in the wings, wanting to know if it's his turn yet. Maybe someone should get on the phone to the Guinness Book of Records to let them know of a world-record case of galloping megalomania.

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