Tony Blair: Trending quotes

“We can only protect liberty by making it relevant to the modern world.”

Tony Blair

In full: Tony Blair's speech http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5382590.stm, BBC News online. Final speech to the Labour Party Annual Conference as Leader, 26 September 2006.
2000s

World

“If it is, on occasions, the place of low skulduggery, it is more often the place for the pursuit of noble causes.”

Tony Blair

Hansard http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070627/debtext/70627-0003.htm, Last official words as Prime Minister, said at Prime Minister's Questions on 27 June 2007.
2000s
Context: Some may belittle politics but we who are engaged in it know that it is where people stand tall. Although I know that it has many harsh contentions, it is still the arena that sets the heart beating a little faster. If it is, on occasions, the place of low skulduggery, it is more often the place for the pursuit of noble causes. I wish everyone, friend or foe, well. That is that. The end.

“Ideals survive through change. They die through inertia in the face of challenge.”

Tony Blair

European Parliament debates http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+CRE+20050623+ITEM-004+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN&query=INTERV&detail=4-010
Speech to the European Parliament outlining the priorities of the British Presidency, 23 June 2005.
2000s

Change

“If there are further steps to European integration, the people should have their say at a general election or in a referendum.”

Tony Blair

"New Britain: My vision of a young country", p. 70.
1990s

People

“It is not a sensible or intelligent response for us in Europe to ridicule American argument or parody their political leadership.”

Tony Blair

Speech at the Lord Mayor's Banquet http://web.archive.org/20041128025440/www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page6583.asp, 15 November 2004.
Urging Europe to stop ridiculing American President George W. Bush.
2000s

Intelligence

“What amazes me is how many people are happy for Saddam to stay. They ask why we don't get rid of Mugabe, why not the Burmese lot. Yes, let's get rid of them all. I don't because I can't, but when you can you should.”

Tony Blair

Michael Ignatieff, "Why Are We In Iraq? (And Liberia? And Afghanistan?)", New York Times, 5 September, 2003.
2000s

People , Happiness

“The reason we are finding it hard to win this battle is that we're not actually fighting it properly. We're not actually standing up to these people and saying, "It's not just your methods that are wrong, your ideas are absurd. Nobody is oppressing you. Your sense of grievance isn't justified."”

Tony Blair

" Blair launches stinging attack on 'absurd' British Islamists http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,2115929,00.html", 1 July 2007.
Remarks made on the eve of his departure from Downing Street, 26 June 2007.
2000s

People , Idea , Sense , Fight

“Lead me into war…you know I believe in you.”

Tony Blair

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/27/international/europe/27memo.html?_r=1 Meeting with George W. Bush on January 31, 2003.
2000s

War

“I fear my own conscience on Africa. I fear the judgement of future generations, where history properly calculates the gravity of the suffering. I fear them asking: but how could wealthy people, so aware of such suffering, so capable of acting, simply turn away to busy themselves with other things? What greater call to action could there be? Did they really know and yet do nothing? I feel that judgement of the future alongside the now. It gives me urgency. It fills me with determination.”

Tony Blair

Prime Minister's website http://web.archive.org/20051103003809/www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page7314.asp
11 March 2005, at the launch of the Commission for Africa Report.
2000s

People , Fear , Feeling , History

“I would never do anything to harm the country or anything improper. I think most people who have dealt with me think I'm a pretty straight sort of guy, and I am.”

Tony Blair

Trevor Kavanagh, "Blair: My big blunder", The Sun, 17 November 1997, p. 8.
Interview with John Humphrys on BBC TV's "On the Record", 16 November 1997.
1990s

People , Guy , Thinking , Country

“I didn't come into politics to change the Labour Party. I came into politics to change the country.”

Tony Blair

Michael White, "Blair wants 'to make UK young again'", Guardian, 4 October 1995.
Speech to the Labour Party conference, 3 October 1995.
1990s

Change , Country

“We should engage with the new de facto power and help make the new government make the changes necessary, especially on the economy, so they can deliver for the people. The events that led to the Egyptian army's removal of President Mohamed Morsi confronted the military with a simple choice: intervention or chaos. Seventeen million people on the streets are not the same as an election. But it as an awesome manifestation of power. I am a strong supporter of democracy. But democratic government doesn't on its own mean effective government. Today efficacy is the challenge. This is a sort of free democratic spirit that operates outside the convention of democracy that elections decide the government. It is enormously fuelled by social media, itself a revolutionary phenomenon. And it moves very fast in precipitating crisis. It is not always consistent or rational. A protest is not a policy, or a placard a programme for government. But if governments don't have a clear argument with which to rebut the protest, they're in trouble.”

Tony Blair

The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/07/egypt-army-morsi-tony-blair 6 July, 2013 Blair justifying the Egyptians army actions on removing Morsi.
2010s

People , Democracy , Support , Strong

“I shall not rest until, once again, the destinies of our people and our party are joined together again in victory at the next general election Labour in its rightful place in government again.”

Tony Blair

Philip Webster, "Blair sets sights on Downing Street", The Times, 22 July 1994.
Speech on being elected Leader of the Labour Party, 21 July 1994.
1990s

People , Victory

“The British are special. The world knows it. In our innermost thoughts we know it. This is the greatest nation on earth. So it has been an honour to serve it. I give my thanks to you, the British people, for the times that I have succeeded, and my apologies to you for the times I have fallen short. But good luck.”

Tony Blair

" Full text of Tony Blair's resignation speech http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/the_blair_years/article1772414.ece", Times Online, 10 May 2007.
Announcing his impending resignation, Trimdon Labour Club, 10 May 2007.
2000s

People , World , Time

“Socialism for me was never about nationalization or the power of the state, not just about economics or even politics. It is a moral purpose to life, a set of values, a belief in society, in co-operation, in achieving together what we cannot achieve alone. It is how I try to live my life, how you try to live yours—the simple truths—I am worth no more than anyone else, I am my brother’s keeper, I will not walk by on the other side. We are not simply people set in isolation from one another, face to face with eternity, but members of the same family, same community, same human race. This is my socialism and the irony of all our long years in opposition is that those values are shared by the vast majority of the British people.”

Tony Blair

As quoted in "Socialism is So Hot Right Now" https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/socialism-hot-right-now/ (17 September 2018), by Jonah Goldberg, Commentary
1990s

Life , People , Truth , Family

“I think this has gone beyond, as it were, Al Qaida as a specific network. I mean, this is -- there is no central command in this ideology, the way that, you know, you would normally describe one unit of -- that leads and operation. It's not like that. But the fact is that they are loosely linked by an ideology. They have very strong links with each other, right across the national boundaries. And you know, would be no surprise to me if the people that were engaged in the Mumbai attacks had links with other countries as well.”

Tony Blair

CNN, Decembeer 7, 2008 http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0812/07/le.01.html.
2000s

People , Way , Thinking , Strong

“What you can't do is have a situation where you get a rejection of the treaty and then you just bring it back with a few amendments and say we will have another go. You can't do that and I am not going to get drawn into speculating the way forward because I don't intend to lose the referendum.”

Tony Blair

Prime Minister's monthly press conference http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page5691.asp, 22 April 2004.
2000s

Way

“The fear of missing out means today's media, more than ever before, hunts in a pack. In these modes it is like a feral beast, just tearing people and reputations to bits. But no-one dares miss out.”

Tony Blair

Lecture on Our Nation's Future - Public Life http://web.archive.org/20071029204355/www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page11923.asp, Reuters, 12 June 2007.
2000s

People , Fear , Tear

“For the moment, let me say this: Saddam Hussein's regime is despicable, he is developing weapons of mass destruction, and we cannot leave him doing so unchecked. He is a threat to his own people and to the region and, if allowed to develop these weapons, a threat to us also.”

Tony Blair

Hansard http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/vo020410/debtext/20410-04.htm, House of Commons 6th series, vol. 383, col. 23.
House of Commons statement on discussions with President Bush over the Middle East, 10 April 2002.
2000s

People

“I want to see a publicly-owned railway, publicly accountable.”

Tony Blair

Paul Routledge, "Why the unions aren't rocking Blair's boat", Independent on Sunday, 8 October 1995.
Speech to the Labour Party conference, 3 October 1995.
1990s