Peter Tatchell: Human Rights, Global Justice, Democracy, LGBT Freedom, Environmentalism

Tony Blair's Legacy

Some achievements, many failings.

London - 10 May 2007

"Tony Blair could have been one of Britain's greatest reforming Prime Ministers, but he squandered many opportunities," said human rights campaigner and Green Party candidate for Oxford East, Peter Tatchell.

"While he achieved some positive changes - the Northern Ireland peace settlement, devolution, the Human Rights Act, civil partnerships and the minimum wage - mostly he has been a huge disappointment.

"As well as failing on key foreign policy issues such as Iraq, Zimbabwe, Palestine and Darfur, he destroyed Labour's internal party democracy, created an unjust and heartless asylum system, began privatising health and education, and orchestrated the biggest assault on civil liberties in peacetime.

"Blair also pandered to big business tycoons like Rupert Murdoch, presided over a widening gap between rich and poor, and authorised the wasting of billions of pounds on the Iraq war, national identity cards, flawed government computer systems, and the renewal of Britain's weapons of mass destruction, the Trident nuclear missile system," said Mr Tatchell.

Printable version