Reply #15: Hmmm

[Spentastic]

Yes, but only generally speaking. The Tories may just have finally rumbled what Blair is up to.

This is not an ideological difference. It is about Blair continuing his habit of securing his position by filling positions of power (Falconer anyone?) with his buddies. This would be unhealthy under any leader and I firmly believe that contrary to your view that Blair is a conservative both ideologically and functionally. One of Labour's major complaints about the Tories was QUANGO appointments and now Blair is doing exactly the same thing, but more blatantly.

Hutton’s self declared remit was so narrow as to be useless. Gilligan’s actions were obviously questionable but compared to lying a country into a war on the basis of fundamentally flawed intelligence it pales into insignificance. From memory I believe that Hutton even used a load of weasel words to say that indeed the intelligence had been sexed up but it was inadvertent so it does not matter. Scarlett has been rewarded for not rocking the boat. If you honestly believe that Alistair Campbell is the angel that Hutton portrayed him as, you are mentally ill.

Blair’s sop to the right on a euro referendum will be viewed as the final betrayal of his liberal leanings. Blair will lose the referendum. He knows this, He is only interested in maintaining power. He’ll look pained when the results are clear but he’ll always be able to avoid personal blame.