A JOURNEY
Page 1
ABOUT THIS BOOK
TONY BLAIR is the politician who defines our times. His emergence as Labour leader in 1994 marked a seismic shift in British politics. Within a few short years, he had transformed his party and rallied the country behind him, becoming prime minister in 1997 with the biggest victory in Labour’s history, and bringing to an end eighteen years of Conservative government. He took Labour to a historic three terms in office, as the dominant political figure of the last two decades.
A JOURNEY is Tony Blair’s first-hand account of his years in office and beyond. Here he describes for the first time his role in shaping our recent history, from the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death to the war on terror. He reveals the leadership decisions that were necessary to reinvent his party, the relationships with colleagues such as Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson, the gruelling negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland, the battles over education and health, the implementation of the biggest reforms to public services since 1945, and his relationships with leaders on the world stage, from Mandela and Clinton to Putin and Bush. He analyses the belief in ethical intervention that led to his decisions to go to war, in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and, most controversially of all, in Iraq.
A JOURNEY is a book about the nature and uses of political power. In frank, unflinching, often wry detail, Tony Blair charts the ups and downs of his career to provide insight into the man, as well as the politician and statesman. He explores the challenges of leadership, and explains why he took on public opinion to stand up for what he believed in. He also looks forwards, to emerging power relationships and economies, and to Britain’s changing role, addressing the vital issues and complexities of our global world.
Few British prime ministers have shaped the nation’s course as profoundly as Tony Blair, and his achievements and his legacy will be debated for years to come. Amid the millions of words written about him, this book is unique: his own journey, in his own words.
Random House
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Copyright © Tony Blair 2010
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Table of Contents
About This Book
Acknowledgements
Picture Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. High Expectations
2. The Apprentice Leader
3. New Labour
4. Honeymoon
5. Princess Diana
6. Peace in Northern Ireland
7. ‘We Govern in Prose’
8. Kosovo
9. Forces of Conservatism
10. Managing Crises
11. A Mandate for New Labour
12. 9/11: ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’
13. Iraq: Countdown to War
14. Resolution
15. Iraq: the Aftermath
16. Domestic Reform
17. 2005: TB/GB
18. Triumph and Tragedy
19. Toughing It Out
20. Endgame
21. Departure
22. Postscript
Picture Inserts
Index
To Cherie, Euan, Nicholas, Kathryn and Leo and my wider family who have shared the journey with me.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
When it was first suggested that I write this book, Bob Barnett, lawyer, friend and negotiator extraordinaire, expertly steered the negotiations that brought me to Random House. It has been a happy partnership ever since. I would like in particular to thank Gail Rebuck, a long-time friend and also, I can now add with pride, my publisher. Gail’s passion for this project, and her faith that she would one day receive a completed manuscript, despite indications to the contrary, never wavered.
I would like to pay tribute to the calm professionalism of her team at Random House. My foremost editorial thanks go to Caroline Gascoigne and David Milner, who have lived with this book almost as long as I have and who have been wonderful throughout. Thanks are also due to Susan Sandon, Charlotte Bush and Claire Round; John Swannell for the photo-shoot that produced the front cover; Richard Ogle for the cover design; Fiona Greenway for the picture research; and the rest of the dedicated production team.
In the USA, Sonny Mehta and Jonathan Segal of Knopf have been enthusiasts for this project from the start – I have found their guidance and advice to be invaluable.
Among my own team it would have been impossible without Catherine Rimmer and Victoria Gould standing over me as I wrote out each word on hundreds of notepads; refusing all phone calls, meetings and other welcome distractions from the creative process. As the publisher’s deadline approached, they even took my BlackBerry away from me. My researcher, Anthony Measures, provided facts and research material and tirelessly trawled through thousands of documents. I am grateful to my band of armchair book critics for their insights and editorial advice: Andrew Adonis, David Bradshaw, Alastair Campbell, Matthew Doyle, Peter Hyman, Philip Gould and Jonathan Powell.
There are countless people from my life in politics without whom this journey would never have begun: my agent in Sedgefield John Burton; his wife Lily and the members of the Sedgefield Labour Party, who put their faith in me right back at the beginning and whose loyalty has been steadfast ever since. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my staff in the early years as Leader of the Opposition and then those in Downing Street; you could never wish for a more loyal and professional group of people – many of whom are mentioned in the book. Of course this book is dedicated to my family. So that tells its own story.
Finally, I would like to thank the people who now work for me in the new chapter of my journey since leaving Downing Street. I am constantly impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment they bring to helping solve some of the issues in the world today, on which I try to work: a greater understanding between the religious faiths; peace in the Middle East; solutions to climate change; and governance in Africa. They know who they are and they should be immensely proud of the work they do.
PICTURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
i-iv: Author’s private collection; Author’s private collection; Author’s private collection; Francis Mathes/Author’s private collection
v-viii: Courtesy of
Alan Collenette; Courtesy of Alan Collenette; Courtesy of Alan Collenette; Author’s private collection; Mirrorpix; Photograph by Jacob Sutton, Camera Press London
ix-xii: Author’s private collection; Ian McIlgorm/Press Association Images; Author’s private collection; Neville Marriner/Daily Mail/Rex Features
xiii-xvi: Gemma Levine/Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Westminster Press/Author’s private collection; Author’s private collection; Author’s private collection; Tom Kidd/Rex Features
xvii-xx: Reuters/Kieran Doherty; Kevin Holt/Daily Mail/Rex Features; Author’s private collection; PA Photos/Topfoto
xxi-xxiv: Neil Munns/PA Archive/Press Association Images; Tom Stoddart/Getty Images; Tom Stoddart/Getty Images; Tom Stoddart/Getty Images
xxv-xxviii: Author’s private collection; Clive Limpkin/Daily Mail/Rex Features; Tim Rooke/Charles Ommanney/Rex Features; Rebecca Naden/PA Archive/Press Association Images
xxix-xxxii: Author’s private collection; © Martin Argles/eyevine; PA Photos/Topfoto; Rooke/Jorgensen/Rex Features
xxxiii-xxxiv: © Annie Liebowitz/Contact Press Images/nbpictures; Owen Humphreys/PA Archive/Press Association Images; Tom Stoddart/Getty Images; David Giles/PA Archive/Press Association Images; © Chris Laurens; © Fred Jarvis
xxxv-xxxviii: Rex Features; Tom Stoddart/Getty Images; Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library; Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library; Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library
xxxix-xli: Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library; Sipa Press/Rex Features; Reuters/Blake Sell
xlii-xlv: Author’s private collection; Reuters/Paul Bates; Rex Features; Rex Features
xlvi-xlviii: PA/PA Archive/Press Association Images; PA Archive/Press Association Images; PA/PA Archive/Press Association Images; PA Archive/Press Association Images; PA Wire/PA Archive/Press Association Images; Rex Features
xlix: Sipa Press/Rex Features; James Gray/NI Syndication; PA Photos/Topfoto; Cathal McNaughton/PA Archive/Press Association Images; Martin McCullough/Rex Features; Martin McCullough/Rex Features
l-lii: Reuters/Crispin Rodwell; Martin McCullough/ Rex Features; Author’s private collection; Author’s private collection
liii-lvii: Rex Features; Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski; John Stillwell/PA Archive/Press Association Images; Rex Features; Richard Young/Rex Features
lviii-lxii: Author’s private collection; Photograph by Mary McCartney, Camera Press London; Author’s private collection; Author’s private collection; Author’s private collection
lxiii-lxvi: Peter Macdiarmid/Rex Features; Reuters/Dylan Martinez; Mike Forster/Daily Mail/Rex Features; Stefan Rousseau/PA Archive/Press Association Images
lxvii-lxxi: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images; Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images; Reuters/Pool old; Author’s private collection; Anthony Measures; Toby Melville/PA Archive/Press Association Images
lxxii-lxxiv: Ron Sachs/Rex Features; Photograph by Moreen Ishikawa, courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library; Photograph by Moreen Ishikawa, courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library
lxxv-lxxvii: Spencer Platt/Getty Images; Chris Ison/PA Archive/Press Association Images; Johnny Green/PA Archive/Press Association Images; Andrea Mohin/NYT/Redux/eyevine; Paul J Richards/AFP/Getty Images
lxxviii-lxxxi: Reuters/Erik de Castro; Reuters/ Pool/Stefan Rousseau JV; Jeff Christensen/Pool/Getty Images; Stefan Rousseau/PA Archive/Press Association Images
lxxxii-lxxxv: © Nick Danziger/nbpictures; © Nick Danziger/nbpictures; © Nick Danziger/nbpictures; © Nick Danziger/nbpictures; PA/PA Archive/Press Association Images
lxxxvi-xc: © Nick Danziger/nbpictures; © Nick Danziger/nbpictures; © Nick Danziger/nbpictures; © Nick Danziger/nbpictures; © Nick Danziger/nbpictures; Sipa Press/Rex Features
xci-xciv: © Simon Walker/NI Syndication; Dan Chung/Guardian News & Media Ltd; Ian Waldie/Getty Images; Jerome Delay/AP/Press Association Images
xcv-c: Ian Waldie/Getty Images; Ian Waldie/Getty Images; Chris Ison/PA Archive/Press Association Images; The Times/Peter Nicholls/NI Syndication; © Nick Danziger/nbpictures; Rota/Anwar Hussein Collection/Getty Images
ci-cvi: Ilan Mizrahi/Redux/eyevine; EG/Israel Sun/Rex Features; Camera Press/Alastair Grant/Rota; Sipa Press/Rex Features; PA/PA Archive/Press Association Images; Tom Hanson/AP/Press Association Images
cvii-cxi: Dan Chung/Guardian News & Media/eyevine; John Gichigi/Getty Images; Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images; Dylan Martinez/AP/Press Association Images; Kevin Coombs/PA Archive/Press Association Images
cxii-cxv: Reuters/Mike Finn Kelcey; Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images; Reuters/Nigel Roddis; Stefan Rousseau/PA Archive/Press Association Images
cxvi-cxix: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images; Dan Chung/Guardian News & Media Ltd; Photograph by Zoe Norfolk, Camera Press London; © Felix Clay/eyevine
cxx-cxxii: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images; Reuters/Jim Young; Thaer Ganaim/PPO via Getty Images
cxxiii-cxxvi: Matthew Doyle; Reuters/Nayef Hashlamoun; Benny Thomas/GEMS Education; © North News and Pictures Ltd
INTRODUCTION
I wanted this book to be different from the traditional political memoir. Most such memoirs are, I have found, rather easy to put down. So what you will read here is not a conventional description of who I met or what I did. There is a range of events, dates, other politicians absent from it, not because they don’t matter, but because my aim was to write not as a historian, but rather as a leader. There have been plenty of accounts – and no doubt will be more – of the history of my ten years as prime minister, and many people could write them. There is only one person who can write an account of what it is like to be the human being at the centre of that history, and that’s me.
So this is a personal account; a description of a journey through a certain period of history in which my political, and maybe to a certain degree my personal character evolves and changes. I begin as one type of leader; I end as another. That’s why I call it a journey. I describe, of course, the major events of my time, but I do so through the eyes of the person taking the decisions in relation to them. It is not an objective account; it doesn’t pretend to be, though I hope it is fair.
I have also written it thematically, rather than following a precise chronology. It is true that my themes essentially start in 1997 and end in 2007; but within that framework I deal with individual subjects: for example, the coming to power; or Northern Ireland; or Princess Diana; or 9/11; or Iraq; or reform in public services; or the Olympics; or July 2005. You can, as a reader, take a subject and pretty much view it in isolation if you wish to, though of course there are a multitude of cross-references. Some things, like my relationship with Gordon Brown and with American presidents, flow through it all.
Because I have read autobiographies or memoirs that begin enthusiastically and then tail off in desperation and haste as the publisher’s deadline approaches, I also took the unusual step of writing the chapters out of sequence, tackling some of the hardest first, and the easiest last. I wanted to keep the same pace and energy throughout. I took three years to write it.
This book is above all, however, not simply retrospective. Naturally, since it deals with past events, it examines those events as they were at the time. But I’m not really a retrospective person. I look forward. I still have much to do and a great amount of purpose in my life. I’m working as hard as I have ever worked. I am still learning.
So as well as using the past to illuminate issues that are still present, A Journey often projects into the future. Particularly in respect of foreign affairs after 9/11, and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also in respect of major reforms to health, education, welfare, and law and order which preoccupy current governments, I seek to set out a view of the world both as it is and as it may become, not simply as I found it while in office. The last chapter deals specifically with 2007–10 and, since it disagrees with much conventional wisdom about the financial crisis and continuing challenges of security, it is very much engaged wi
th today’s debate about today’s issues.
Finally, the book is something of a letter (extended!) to the country I love. I won three general elections. Up to then, Labour had never even won two successive full terms. The longest Labour government had lasted six years. This lasted thirteen. It could have, as I say in the final chapter, gone on longer, had it not abandoned New Labour.
Those victories came about because there was a group of people who felt the same as I do about Britain. That it is a great country. That the British people are, at their best, brave, determined and adventurous. But that we need a vision, a concept, a sense of our place in the world today and in our future, as well as a strong regard for our past. That is why I was and remain first and foremost not so much a politician of traditional left or right, but a moderniser. I wanted to modernise the Labour Party so it was capable, not intermittently but continuously, of offering a progressive alternative to Conservative rule. I wanted to modernise Britain so that, while retaining pride in having worn the mantle of the world’s most powerful nation as the twentieth century began, it didn’t feel bereft and in decline as the twenty-first century arrived, because that mantle would no longer fit. I wanted us to be a nation proud of being today a land of many cultures and faiths, breaking new ground against prejudice of any sort, paying more attention to merit than to class, and being at ease with an open society and global economy. I wanted us to realise a new set of ambitions at home and abroad. We would reform our public services and welfare state so as to make them consonant with the world of 2005, not 1945. We would use our membership of Europe and our alliance with the United States to influence the decisions of the world, even as our power relative to the emerging nations diminished. We would play a new role in continents such as Africa, as partners in development. We would forge a new politics, in which successful enterprise and ambition lived comfortably alongside a society of equal opportunity and compassion.