A Selection of Tony Blair Quotes
On the share collapse (Oct 1987) Blair said:
" the City whizz-kids, with salaries only fractionally less than their greed, now seem not only morally dubious, but incompetent"
From an interview with Scott Davidson of Regeneration:
"Take a project like Band Aid for instance. Many people worked very hard for Band Aid, and OK, it raised millions of pounds, but then more money was being taken off the Overseas Aid Budget by the Conservatives. Political action is the way of securing change. If you do not engage in political parties you are not actually engaging in political decisions. You may think you are, but you're not.
"It's a very easy line - and the press love it - that politicians are in it for themselves, all the parties are the same, etc. And then, of course, single issue politics appears to be pristine idealism, but a lot of key political decisions that dramatically affect these groups are taken by political parties.
"It is also the danger with some groups like the Green Party - they end up with policies which are just out to lunch and do not help the causes they think they are helping."
Blair on power:
"Power without principle is barren, but principle without power is futile. This is a party of government, and I will lead it as a party of government."
From Tony Blair's speech to the TUC, September 1995:
"But what has come home to me more than anything else is the utter futility of Opposition. I did not join the Labour Party to protest. I joined it as a party of government and I will make sure that it is a party of government."
From Prime Minister's Questions, 30 July 1997:
Sir Michael Spicer: Looking back on the past 96 days, and with the benefit of hindsight, what does the Prime Minister think has been his worst mistake--losing control over interest rates, raiding pension funds, robbing the reserves, or what?
The Prime Minister: Certainly our greatest triumph has been to remove the Conservative Government. As for my greatest mistake, that is for me to know and for the hon. Gentleman to find out.
From Tony Blair's speech to Labour Party conference October 1995:
"I didn't come into politics to change the Labour Party. I came into politics to change the country."
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, MR TONY BLAIR, SEDGEFIELD, SUNDAY 31 AUGUST 1997 - TRIBUTE TO PRINCESS DIANA:
"I feel like everyone else in this country today. I am utterly
devastated.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Princess Diana's family,
particularly her two sons. Our heart goes out to them.
"We are today a nation in a state of shock, in mourning, in grief
that is so deeply painful for us. She was a wonderful and a warm human
being, although her own life was often sadly touched by tragedy. She
touched the lives of so many others in Britain and throughout the world
with joy and with comfort.
"How many times shall we remember her in how many different ways - with
the sick, the dying, with children, with the needy? With just a look
or a gesture that spoke so much more than words, she would reveal to
all of us the depth of her compassion and her humanity.
"I am sure we can only guess how difficult things were for her from time
to time. But people everywhere, not just here in Britain, kept faith
with Princess Diana. They liked her, they loved her, they regarded her
as one of the people. She was the People's Princess and that is how she
will stay, how she will remain in our hearts and our memories for ever".
Quotes on Blair
Ken Livingstone (October 1997):
"The worst thing you can do as a politician is believe it when the press says it likes you. I think the present media love-fest is really unhealthy for Blair.
"The media isn't scrutinising us properly. If Lord Simon had been a Tory in the last government, he would have been driven out of public life. Even Thatcher had some checks. Blair doesn't like a debate - which doesn't do much for my career prospects ... The test for Blair will come three years from now when things go wrong and your ghastly rag [Webmaster's note - The Sunday Telegraph] drives him into the dirt."
Sir Bernard Ingham (October 1997):
"One by one my former colleagues, heads of government-information divisions depart ...But my former colleagues know that their sole stock-in-trade as communicators is their sustained credibility. I fear Mr Blair's long-term ambitions are being served by a crude short-term approach to media relations. He will live to regret it."
Mikhail Rogoroi, director of House Seven, Entrance 4, on Blair's performance in the soap:
"The last take was absolutely perfect because the prime minister did everything we wanted. A clever man can be an actor or do any work he wants to."
Earl Russell described Blair as:
"distinguished by his unctious dedication to moral principles, and by his readiness to use compulsion in support of them"
Kevin Keegan on Blair:
"he's a breath of fresh air";
Keegan on Blair's football prowess:
"He's good. If Labour has a team, he should be in it"
John Redwood, in October 1995, claiming Blair had taken his ideas:
"Tony Blair's speech did seem strangely familiar. He has become the thieving magpie [ webmaster's note - continues the Newcastle theme!) of British politics. Every idea that glistens he transfers to his own nest"
Tony Banks:
"I remember hearing him talk and thinking 'You ain't getting anywhere with those ideas kid.' But now Blair is doing things that politicians I grew up with would never have dared to even think about."