Blair & Brown The New Labour Revolution S01E01

Two young MPs, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, are determined to modernise the Labour party against a backdrop of economic strife and dire election failures.

[@michaelotieno6524]

I really don't think Gordon Brown has anything to be ashamed about.

[@simonlee8889]

You jest? He fucked over millions of pension investors by doing The City's bidding then took jobs on the boards of the same set of thieves..

[@999cosmos]

Maybe selling Britain's gold reserves at the market low.

[@abdvs325]

Iraq war?

[@peterscott2395]

Better together? That's working out well....

[@hankstaines6568]

Not getting the idea that allowing a free flow of immigrants to the UK is a disaster for the country.

[@1080lights]

It's shocking how readily people describe these two as the problem with the party when they're the only two Labour PMs in the last forty years. That’s what a political party is for. It’s not a hobby; it’s not a pressure group that exists to open the Overton window a little wider; it’s not an association for making friends or hosting stimulating conversations and seminars; it’s not “a 30-year project”. Its purpose is to win and exercise power in the here and now. It is either a plausible vehicle for government or it is nothing. Remember that when another fool like Jezza says he "won the argument."

[@marcusappelberg369]

So power for power's sake then? Policies are unimportant ... The victims of Iraq would like to disagree. But they can't, cause they are dead.

[@1080lights]

@@marcusappelberg369 No, not power for power's sake. Power for the sake of actually executing policy. That's literally what I just wrote. Please try reading. Without it, the entire party manifesto is worthless.

[@tay2229]

Are you referring just to the Labour Party or to political parties in general?

[@eoghantoner]

@@1080lights ‘please try reading’ is a dickhead thing to say. The guy you responded to is obviously disheartened at your praise of Blair whilst leaving out the fact that he is the biggest European mass murderer of my lifetime and I’m 40. This man lied to the Brits and the world and now millions of Iraqis are dead or in exile. Save your praise for people who tried to stop him murdering all those people and facilitating a bloody civil war. Maybe it is you who should try reading.

[@mustafaalawad8348]

@@eoghantoner realtalk

[@backto-il9ne]

This is JUICY !!! Thanks for uploading.

[@Nekrosmas]

Thank you - please do upload the rest of the 4 episodes if possible

[@grose2961]

Terrific. Thank you for posting

[@alancassell566]

Brown was never new labour... Brown was always Labour.. There is a massive difference..

[@sidevans1]

yes. one won, got into power and actually did things for working people.

[@brucehauser6826]

And thats why he lost.

[@TheGreenAnorak]

Thanks for upload from S.Colorado.

[@robertmay9798]

Thank you from Canada!

[@TheHandsomeman]

Blair, The Large Grin, of a very wicked and cruel man.

[@adamatherton8562]

Thoroughly enjoyed watching this, it really shows just how politics and power functions and how it is achieved.

[@ER1CwC]

Blair had better political instincts than Brown in terms of sensing when to pounce at opportunities. But both of them clearly had massive confidence in what they were doing. Brown says here that the deal they made was that he would take over after Blair’s first two terms: that means that both of them assumed that Labour under their leadership would win three consecutive elections at a minimum.

[@PMMagro]

Except Blair joined the iraq war on a clearly bogus pretence. Weird misstake to make for someone keen on being popular.

[@ER1CwC]

@@PMMagro If I recall correctly, he kind of admitted in a later episode that it was a matter of standing by the United States. Also, I think he genuinely believed in the effort to liberalize and democratize Iraq. Not sure if it had something to do with his religious views, which are not that different from Bush’s.

[@mowogfpv7582]

​@ER1CwC Blair believes what he needs to believe in order to continue being Tony Blair. It doesn’t make him a liar. At least not in the conventional sense. He doesn't think he is lying to anyone. But that capacity for self persuasion is both politically powerful and incredibly dangerous.

[@ER1CwC]

@@mowogfpv7582 I know what you mean. It's a pity. Iraq was to Blair as Vietnam was to LBJ.

[@nosequiters]

brown was a bottler

[@qnelson1000]

Excellent series! Well done!

[@mjc01]

43:05 IMO Brown: flawed (in terms of the depth and reach of his political/cultural perception), but a decent man. Still is.

[@mjc01]

@stargazer what an intelligent response.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

I happen to agree, Brown would have been a good Prime Minister if it were not for his communication problems. Edit: Not oratory, he is much better at that.

[@HomemadeBrownies1]

@@johnnotrealname8168 he was a brilliant orator, but only when speaking to people who agree with him. He is a classic church pastor type. His oratory wasn’t good for convincing others.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@HomemadeBrownies1 True, he is no Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet although he has a knack for invigorating his flock with the ideals they share.

[@onenote6619]

The common reasoning is that during a boom you sock away some money for hard times. During a bust, you withdraw money from the sock. Brown mistook a boom for his own genius and doubled down on the spending. When the bust hit, he bailed out.

[@ynwa3476]

Life under Blair and Brown was a damn sight better than it is now !

[@johntomlinson6849]

Mainly because of all the immigrants they let in.

[@smdutton]

Yep

[@lesliescottw]

say that to the people he waged war against for lies ffs

[@ynwa3476]

@lesliescottw I'm talking about living in the UK during that time. Yes the war in Iraq was illegal, and he should be prosecuted accordingly. That's a seperate issue.

[@PBI45]

​@@ynwa3476I'd say Blair and Brown domestically were probably B or A tier PMs, but particularly with Blair foreign performance was questionable.

[@barryballsit4944]

Thanks very much, reading Andrew Rawnsleys Servants of the People as the moment. So this is good timing

[@TheTurksMusic]

Great book and the follow up as well really documented the new labour years

[@Gimili10]

Blair did some very good things in office, but in light of the terrible war he and George W. Bush waged, his record has to be considered mixed. Like Lyndon Johnson here in America.

[@hschsc1300]

LBJ gave the elderly of America healthcare, greatly improved public education, made sure poor/middle class kids can go to university, and advanced environmental conservation. Tony Blair oversaw privatization of the NHS, supported private/public education rather than state schools, and put on tuition fees. LBJ and Blair are two very different characters in the "good things" they did.

[@gabrielrubens4505]

@@hschsc1300 don’t forget about the incredible Civil Rights Acts under LBJ (who was also responsible for the 1957 Civil Rights Act effectively)

[@999cosmos]

Blair was perhaps the worst PM in one hundred years. Devolution, the politicisation of the civil service, are just two of his legacies.

[@fshoaps]

LBJ gave black folks the right to vote. To compare him with Tony Blair is a great insult to LBJ

[@dmmartinez9]

Spot on, he is Britain’s Lyndon Johnson.

[@lindymcbroom953]

This is very interesting ! I had no idea They entered The House of Commons the same year .

[@peterpeper1381]

We've done well I'm so proud to be hear to say this think you I've got to keep you on your toes, have I?

[@akaashrishi]

vintage beautiful news footage and sounds

[@brianocallaghan7172]

whatever might be said Blair was magnetic and telegenic and had a wonderful ear for soundbites and an eye for a new way forward.Extraordinarily talented for the times he lived in.no historical background in politics making his ascent to the top all the more captivating.No one is perfect!!!

[@gordonferrar7782]

Much rather have New Labour back then this shower of shite right now. Country's o it's arse the Tories are incapable of change

[@johnnotrealname8168]

Blair essentially became a Tory for the sake of winning elections (Though his policies no doubt were different, I mean to get votes.). However Brown could not pull that off, he was a great public speaker but too much an orator not a nice face (Like how Bossuet would have been.).

[@peterscott2395]

He's certainly got the money in bank to prove your opinion. Hopefully I can also destabilize the middle east then get anointed as an ambassador and earn even more than this legend 😂

[@keithjohnson49]

Blair was.... yep, so was Adolf Hitler

[@narkelnaru2710]

Thanks 🤘🏼

[@fisherpeter695]

Left the labour party after 31 years after witnessing new labour policy in practice in local government. Even the conservative governments of Thatcher/ Major never privatised Council services, that new labour did with enthusiasm. The dismantling of Municipal housing bringing the closure of housing departments have left communities with no focal point for people needing housing services. These had been in situ from the post-war period The Cameron government later wrote off the multi million pound loans taken out to purchase council housing stock by so- called housing trusts that couldn't balance the books. If new labour had prioritised social and domestic policy over their foreign policy, future governments may not have had to do so much levelling-up. On Merseyside, for example, labour axed plans for three tram systems at the 11th hour in 2005 claiming it wasn't value for money. A deafening silence prevailed at the time from civic leaders. Perhaps some research could also examine the huge reduction in council workforces that were achieved without any real opposition at the time.

[@mikeystorm275]

BS the there's never been levelling up since Atley wss add pm after WW2, capitalism is trickle down economics and there's only so much labour could do !

[@benharis1956]

You must love the living cost crisis of Boris Johnson. Corruption.

[@mikeystorm275]

@@benharis1956 wreck the economy, rid the working class of the two life lines The NHS and the welfare state. That's what the brexiters brexiters meant! CONS OUT Fruit loops out

[@Bucketheadhead]

13:50 these images are not of a mining strike but the steelworks at Ravenscraig in Motherwell.

[@josephmarrison4606]

I think Blair and Brown were the two best PMs we have had in my lifetime. Not afraid to say it.

[@cayetanosoler3432]

Tory Blair and Gordon Brown with Mandelson pulling the strings .......complete illusion of choice.

[@nicholasbuttery511]

Blair and New Labour were gifted with James Callaghan and his 1979 published but never used General Election Manuscript . The similarities are copyright.

[@alancassell566]

Blair & Brown should have faced off... That was.. is.. Always will be the fundamental weakness of new labour.. It was a dual premiership... No good.... It needed to be blair or brown..

[@mjc01]

Blair was the one they wanted. Blair was the one they got. Decisive, intelligent, sufficiently ruthless. Nevertheless far too much of a puppet and far too egotistical to realise it.

[@casteretpollux]

Surely Blair was a straightforward Tory plant?

[@trewens]

Whose puppet was he? Who was secretly in control? What a load of rubbish?

[@mjc01]

@@trewens This is far too crass a view of the meaning of 'puppet'. I don't know how old you are - I voted for the first time in 1979 (I was 19) - but I can assure you more or less in Thatcher's own words: he was her greatest achievement. She gave herself too much credit of course, since many other factors and players were involved. However I am not suggesting an orchestrated conspiracy to create "New Labour" or Blairism. I am saying they set the conditions. He was effective, and persuasive but he did this having massively conceded to the right. This is the way to eventually lose votes and lose members. "They have nowhere else to go" (Mandelson) only works for so long. BTW if you lived through this same period and you are a reasonably intelligent and decent person and you are still a Blair loyalist then I can only think you are deceiving yourself.

[@trewens]

@@casteretpollux Blair beat the Tories and put them out of power for three successive elections. How can he be a Tory plant? Your comment is literally the stupidest one I've ever seen on KZbin.

[@trewens]

@@mjc01 so when you said 'puppet' you didn't really mean puppet at all. You meant something else. My interpretation of your comment wasn't crass, you were being inaccurate with your words.

[@arthurnewman7461]

I think it’s safe to say that politicians just aren’t as good now as they were in the 70s, 80s and 90s

[@cymraegpunk1420]

There's also an element of social media and 24 news cycles exposing politicians in a way they weren't in those decades

[@SUPREMEdiver33]

Romanticizing the past is so toxic. It's the same people and it's up to you if that is a good thing or a bad thing

[@christopher9727]

. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@DFandV]

​@@SUPREMEdiver33Is he wrong?

[@jayfielding1333]

@@SUPREMEdiver33 It's not that at all. These people had quality. They were intelligent, articulate, respectful and they had vision. What they thought, said and did then that is controversial now is a different issue.

[@adamhadfield5831]

There’s something sinister about Tony Blair. And it becomes more and more obvious as he ages

[@seansmith445]

The old demon eyes billboard poster wasn't far off the mark.

[@alancassell566]

6 labour PM's... 90 yrs in opposition... 75 % of the entire labour party history..

[@tanveerhasan2382]

sad

[@DFandV]

Kind off painful to think they only had 6. Whilst the Tories had 5 PMs in a space of a decade. And 3 PMs in a space of 3 months.

[@PBI45]

And yet some of the greatest changes of Britain were made under them. Clement Attlee allowed Nye Bevan to create the NHS for god's sake, a core part of Britain that we couldn't live without today. Harold Wilson liberalised or at least allowed British legislation, decriminalising homosexuality and attempting to improve race relations. Just to name a few.

[@proo560]

New Labour changed this country for the better. Clever, pragmatic, and realists in charge of the country - look how far we have fallen with the current shower 🙈

[@hschsc1300]

Where we are today is a direct result of New Labour.

[@proo560]

@@hschsc1300 What - the minimum wage? Banter how this govt - the worst that I have ever seen, by the way - are bizarrely blaming NL for their own incompetence 🙈

[@hschsc1300]

@@proo560 New Labour went to Iraq, failed to prevent or seriously alleviate the Great Recession, oversaw the whithering away of trust in British institutions and their working class base from their party, and they pushed for free trade deals that saw British industry disappear faster. All of this has led to where we are today. They had accomplishments, of course, but they have been a negative in the long run.

[@proo560]

@@hschsc1300 Withering away the great British institutions? 😆 Record investment in the NHS and schools. Failed to alleviate the Great Recession? Read Obama’s book, and see what he has to say about Gordon Brown. British industry? How’s Brexit going for business! My word 🙈 Do you vote Tory, by any chance? 😆

[@hschsc1300]

@@proo560 Withering away TRUST in British institutions. Simply look at media and government approval after Iraq, they have never recovered. Also take into account privatizations in the NHS and support of education mainly via those not state-owned, which are mostly attended by those not poor. Obama was no better in America, so he is not necessarily a reliable source. Nonetheless, unemployment adjusted for the labor participation rate never fell below 10% or even touched pre-Recession levels EVER. Poverty, too, worsened in Britain, with child hunger never recovering to pre-Recession levels ever either. Brexit has gone terrible, I was against it then and still do now. Not in hell's chance I would ever vote Tory, I can't even vote in Britain. I vote Democratic across the ocean.

[@FarObserver]

So weird seeing Gordon young

[@folasadegiwa6305]

thank so much miss folasade giiwa safiyat good blessing you todary am?

[@folasadegiwa6305]

thank so much miss folasade giwa safiyat good blessing you todary am?

[@folasadegiwa6305]

thank so much miss giwa folasade safiyat good blessing you todary am?

[@thejfoshow1320]

Very much New Labour through new Labour’s eyes. The clashes were intrafactional in nature, New Labour is an assumed good though. Still value in that, maybe that’s what they were going for, just important to bear in mind what this is

[@robertmay9798]

Fair play to the BBC, this is really well done. I was worried it would be shit compared to The Wilderness Years.

[@VincentRE79]

Yes but tells us nothing that we did not know already.

[@roryhungrrr]

@@VincentRE79 I was going to say, it's a nice addendum to The Wilderness Years but The Wilderness Years was more candid - you can tell both GB/TB have been altered by the era of spin

[@VincentRE79]

@@roryhungrrr Yes and they started to believe they could do anything they wanted with the country.

[@SSMMTTEE]

@@roryhungrrr I think the most candid interviews in the Wilderness Years came from those who knew they were looking back on their careers, people like Kinnock, Benn and so on.

[@michaelhoskins6579]

The Wilderness years was excellent. I think it gave a fair hearing to all of the big hitters within the major factions within the party who were influential at the time, and left the viewer to make up their own mind. I watched it repeatedly after the 2019 GE defeat.

[@folasadegiwa6305]

thank so mich miss folasade giwa safiyat my worke for da people poliecit GOV people agin thank so mich good blessing you todary am ?

[@227060]

Whatever you think of either men, their years in power, the BBC as an institution, it must be said that this documentary series was excellent

[@martm216]

Good documentary.

[@alancassell566]

June 1983- May 94...blair & brown stood together... SOLID... AFTER MAY 94 TIL JULY 2007... IT JUST FELL APART... Day by day...

[@LLLewelyn]

The problem with Blair is he thinks he knows better than everyone else. This can be found when he wrote to Isaiah Berlin on his deathbed asking if positive and negative liberty could be combined, and to some degree that is what he pushed to do.

[@spartacusforlife1508]

I watched this series throughout and what was starkly revealed was that Blair could have comfortably sat in the Conservative party as a tory wet.. when we say militant was a party within a party it could be argued that blairites were the same. Brown was from the right of the party but still held to many of its traditions. Blair was anything but.

[@999cosmos]

Blair wanted power for it's own sake.

[@spartacusforlife1508]

@@999cosmos true, but, there was a belief amongst the electorate that he would change things for the better. No one thinks that of Starmer

[@richardwalton1239]

You are a good egg !

[@johnmc3862]

Legends!

[@christinelivesey9077]

I was brought up in a mining community and family and I can’t bear to look at Arthur Scargill. MT saw him coming and patiently waited for him to help her cause.

[@stephenmatthews161]

Greatest living PM,TB that is,when you examine the task of resurrecting the Labour Party from the wasteland of opposition.waiting for the usual clutch of jaundiced eyed critics obsessed with Iraq to waffle on about Bliar.....

[@Wizerud]

RIP John Smith, a better leader than both of them.

[@redouanchab3an331]

Tak

[@shanetonkin2850]

14:54 - “this world’s changed” While Blair definitely got a lot of things wrong, he was absolutely bang on here and seems to have been able to grasp this fact light years ahead of many of his Labour Party colleagues. Some (Jeremy Corbyn et al. ) appear to have still not understood this today.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

Jeremy Corbyn belonged to Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn's camp which was more old-school in it's predelictions. There is a documentary series called Wilderness Years about the transition from old-school through Neil Kinnock's leadership that discusses this.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@Bessie Hillum I do not see how my statement was a negation of the point? Why do you come up with useless statements like that?

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@Bessie Hillum You are becoming grating. I was describing the documentary I mentioned which charts the history of the Wilderness Years through the old and Baron Kinnock's years (It does have interviews briefly with Blair as Leader of the opposition and describes Smith's leadership but it is brief and not the chunk of the documentary. In any case this is not what you wrote at all.), please stop with the useless statements.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@Bessie Hillum I was mentioning Corbyn's position as a response to the guy, as Corbyn was also in the documentary. He was part of the remain campaign but yes he is a Baron now. His son is in the Shadow Cabinet I believe.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@Bessie Hillum WoW you are really misinformed: "Stephen Nathan Kinnock" who is Shadow Minister for Immigration. Stop writing useless things.

[@Raukura42]

Gee what an interesting coincidence across some commonwealth countries-Hawke and Keating, Blair and Browne and Howard and Costello-exactly the same thing, the PM, elect or actual, apparently promised the finance minister to stand down after two terms.

[@PNETriffid]

Given the profound unpopularity of the Tories in 1997, I find it incomprehensible to believe that had the popular John Smith lived, Labour would not have won the General Election.

[@JJVernig]

They probably had won, but how the next 13 years looked like there is no way to know.

[@liamb8644]

@@JJVernigDomestically the policies of John Smith would have been similar to Blair's (tax raises for huge increases in public service spending) New Deal, education policy and so on. The difference of course would have been the illegal invasion of Iraq, which would never have happened under Smith.

[@Gizo02]

To be fair, Blair inherited by far the strongest hand out of any incoming leader of the opposition that I can remember. He got the job in tragic circumstances after John Smith's death, but from a 'tactical' perspective it was an absolutely perfect time to take charge When he became leader in 1994, Labour already had 271 seats in the Commons and so were arithmetically close to power, had consistent 20 point lead in the polls before John Smith died, and Neil Kinnock had already taken a lot of measures to move the party in the direction that he wanted. The Tory government on the flipside was already truly dead and buried either after Black Wednesday in September 1992, or after the March 1993 budget when they put VAT on fuel at the very latest. They already lost several by-elections in 1993-1994 further reducing their already narrow majority (to about 15 I think), and were self-destructing on a daily basis including feuding over Europe which simply wasn't an important issue to the public at the time. Plus they had been in power for 15 years, with the public completely sick of them and wanting change, and Major’s individual popularity at the time of the 1992 GE had since been eradicated.

[@danielwarren3138]

Yep. Smith would've easily won in 97, hell even Michael Foot probably would've won it.

[@Gizo02]

@@danielwarren3138 definitely. I think that Smith surely would have won a majority at least as big as the current Tory one, probably even bigger. He wouldn’t have won a majority of around 180 like Blair did, because of Blair’s appeal to ‘middle England’ and the Murdoch media, but still it would have been a big win. You can’t ask for much more than becoming leader of the opposition when a deeply unpopular and bitterly divided government, with a constantly shrinking majority, has been in power for 15 years and the public already want a change.

[@AndrewAllen]

Perhaps this is so, but are you really suggesting another leader would’ve won by such a landslide (twice in a row), secured a third term and so completely changed the narrative of the country?

[@Gizo02]

@@AndrewAllen I already addressed that. Smith would have won a very comfortable majority at least as big as the current Tory one if not bigger, but not as large as super-landslide won under Blair. He wouldn’t have gone hell for leather to get the Murdoch media on-side. The 2005 election win BTW was outrageously lucky and distorted by FPTP, with the lowest vote share of any winning / largest party in history, the lowest no. of votes for any largest party in the last 90 years, and crucially a lot of pretty safe Labour seats turning marginal, setting them up to be lost in 2010. A lot of the major policies from the successful first term which Blair less enthusiastic about, such as the national minimum wage and Scottish devolution, were already established party policies under John Smith. So he also inherited a strong policy platform. Maybe under Smith, the catastrophic decision to invade Iraq based on a pack of lies would have been avoided. Without Iraq and up against a pre-Cameron useless, angry Tory party, Labour’s 2005 win would surely have far more impressive.

[@AndrewAllen]

@@Gizo02 Impossible to know if Smith would’ve won a landslide, but there’s nothing to suggest he would’ve galvanised the country the way Blair did, which is what set the ground for the two successive landslides. Never heard of a lucky landslide before! Not sure even Saint Corbyn would suggest it was a lucky landslide. But fair enough, you’re entitled to your opinion. I pretty much disagree with every opinion you made there, so it’s a classic agree to disagree. All the best.

[@ecnalms851]

Didn't like Brown at all.. In fact: "Under Brown, the tax code, the standard guide to tax, doubled in length to 17,000 pages." He also had stealth taxes, sold off gold reserves. UK taxation increased from a 39.3% share of gross domestic product in 1997 to 42.4% in 2006, going to a higher level than that of Germany.

[@MrVice101]

The members of the Kinnock’s Shadow Cabinet jealous of Brown and Blair getting more airtime should have upped their game rather then complain.

[@TheTristanmarcus]

It was, of course, a flawed project, but compared to the complete non-entities who have been PM since Blair & Brown it was a stirring time to live through 😢 #makethetorieshistory

[@paulgibbons2320]

One line stood out in the BBC documentary; 'My personal feelings were not the issue' - Tony Blair. I disagree totally the Iraq war was a perfect example of been lead astray by a psychopath. Someone with a poor or none existant grasp of human emotion and empathy. I honestly beleive he's not lost an hours sleep over the millions of deaths in Iraq. For some one who professess to be a born again Christian he seems to have a complete inability to display remorse, regret or 'repentance'. Which is extremely counter intuitive.

[@TheOfficialThundazz]

I agree with you, I think he is a psychopath too, but he’s also a tragedy. He had so much charisma, so much popularity, a huge majority, he could have been a force for good if he put his mind to it, and he almost was. If not for Iraq, I think he would be remembered as the best Prime Minister in living memory

[@paulgibbons2320]

@@TheOfficialThundazz I don't think so. All the cracks we see today started under his watch. Social justice, Hong Kong, Brexit, benefits Britain, mass immigration, the banking crash. He sewed all those seeds.

[@TheOfficialThundazz]

@@paulgibbons2320 I concede on mass immigration and Hong Kong, but benefits Britain is for some people the difference between life and death, and that at times the state needs to step in and help those who need help. Now of course there are always going to be benefit thieves, but a bigger issue is tax avoidance from the rich and large corporations, it’s too easy to blame the deficit on poor people. Whilst Hong Kong was a disaster remember Blair’s role in the peace process in Northern Ireland, which saw a dramatic drop in sectarian violence and sentiment. Whatever cracks you assert began to show under New Labour were ripped wide open by the Tories who implemented a brutal and sustained assault on the most unfortunate in our society whilst the gap between the haves and have nots increased.

[@paulgibbons2320]

@@TheOfficialThundazz agreed. But the less fortunate want a chance to earn not get hand outs. The whole Idea of in work benefits is crazy. At what cost did Blair sort out IRA? He freed terrorists an made murderers respectable politicians. An now we have a good Friday agreement which is something the Irish won't move on. I'm not sure freeing terrorists is cause for celibration. John Major did a fair bit of that too.

[@TheOfficialThundazz]

@@paulgibbons2320 There wouldn’t need to be in work benefits if wages weren’t so pathetically low and cost of living so criminally high. So you propose that Blair should have just let the troubles continue? Simply dismissing the IRA as evil terrorists is counter effective, and whilst violence against innocents is never acceptable and the IRA were deplorable for what they did against innocent people, it’s not like we Brits were angels, horrible things were done on both sides and simply refusing to cooperate with the Republicans just continues the cycle of violence and sectarianism

[@andybray9791]

Brown was much better than Blair

[@lee80us]

🤣 camerons better than brown then…

[@cliffheywood9224]

@@lee80us all three are traitors to the british people

[@surfnturf7832]

@@cliffheywood9224 let me guess, a farage fan?

[@muhammadmustafa2946]

Thanks for posting all five episodes of this documentary. It was a thoroughly enjoyable watch! I am not British, but I delight in learning about your great nation. I started to keep up with the going-ons of your nation when Rishi Sunak first ran for prime minister and there was all the buzz that he might be the first South Asian one. I am South Asian so that caught my attention. Of course, we now know he is the first South Asian PM.

[@jigram7563]

Who cares

[@muhammadmustafa2946]

@@jigram7563 ummm ru okay?

[@undercoverbrother67]

Sunak is a kunt. Just like every other Tory. I'm happy to teach you about this country.

[@NicholasWarnertheFirst]

I think he means that a Tory Indian brought up in the most privileged way possible is a Tory first and a "South Asian" a distant second?

[@christopher9727]

Only Jesus Christ blood can cleanse us of are sins come to Jesus Christ today Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void. The Holy Spirit can lead you guide and confort you through it all Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@qnelson1000]

Funny how Brown angled to get Blair to leave, but then begged for his help when he needed to get reeelected lol😢

[@jamescopsey8334]

Does anyone know the music from about 56:30 onwards?

[@ChrisTopher-sn2lt]

Allways hard to see the truth with one eye open

[@jayanthkaruturi9640]

What music do they use for the intro at 2:26?

[@jayanthkaruturi9640]

@Bessie Hillum ah ok, sad I cant hear it elsewhere, but thanks!

[@davidnichol6282]

Don't forget people were tired of Thatchers pervading influence. That's why some later labour got the keys of number 10. It's the same with the conservatives the still think back to her success. And the snp remember the poll tax. And the conservatives unpopularity of the Tories in Scotland is.

[@louisdawes2337]

People seem to love over exaggerating the flaws of gordon brown. They make it seem like he couldnt do up a zip. He was a formidabble character in world politics

[@localfox1000]

gordon was a handsome man when he was young.

[@cliffheywood9224]

a slug more like

[@mattgumbley1317]

Haha. Most people are.

[@richjones4956]

Get some new eyeballs.

[@fergusmurphy8310]

@@richjones4956 You're angry that someone finds Gordon Brown attractive. Don't let it destroy you.

[@MsJellyEggs]

A comprehensive analysis of the development & change in the Labour movement as a Modern Political Party. Certainly not a promotional campaign for Marketing Meat.

[@andrewdavies8954]

the memory of these times still causes me nightmares,

[@missasinenomine]

1:50 Great left hook! (no pun intended).

[@mmmoroi]

For his age and weight, Two-Jag Prescott demonstrated an unbelievable agility and speed. Old instinct dies hard. He practiced boxing while working as a steward.

[@patrickmccutcheon9361]

@@mmmoroi as well putting the punch back into politics, ‘John is John’ had, guess still has, an interesting way of speaking as well, a language vaguely related to English.

[@mattford9044]

Brown always kept one eye on Blair.

[@leokorn1629]

And then, they betrayed the people.

[@Eleventhearlofmars]

Every PM has always done the same. They’ll bullshit to get in and say anything then when they’ve blagged it will either do the opposite or F all.

[@Eleventhearlofmars]

That comment above applies to whatever party gets in btw.

[@A_10_PaAng_111]

Soon as I hear a politician use the words Social Injustice, I know that's someone I'm not voting for.

[@jimmurray2494]

I must have blinked.

[@shakthidhasan4544]

It seems there was a time when politicians were not arsonist. ❤

[@johnpark-jones4285]

Blair just carried on where Thatcher left off. And let’s be honest it’s the same now . These so called political parties are the same.

[@corsousa]

Labour hasn't had a decent leader since Blair. They need a young and charismatic leader with fresh and relevant ideas in tune with the difficulties this country is facing. We live in a different world than 10-15 years ago

[@TheOfficialThundazz]

Yeah, Starmer isn’t exactly young and definitely not charismatic.

[@craigfowler7098]

You get it. Can't do anything unless in downing Street

[@DFandV]

Well Canada has a young PM and France had the youngest President since Napoleon in Macron. And both countries had major protests.

[@adammac4960]

Say what you will, take Iraq out of the way he’s been the best PM we’ve had since he first came into power.

[@MARAK709]

So John Smith is trashed on this program and there is no one rebutting it? Given that he is dead, i think that is pretty disgusting.

[@robbibittybob20]

There is nobody from the left on this. They're just shitting on the miners and workers too.

[@herondelatorre4023]

@@robbibittybob20 Because the miners and workers really don't give a darn how the Labour party looks currently and have to hold their noses to support the Conservatives!!!!!!

[@briandelaney9710]

He would have won the 1997 election handily without giving up all the principles of Labour

[@seantyson6021]

Who gives a fuck about the dead?

[@wessexfox5197]

@@briandelaney9710 he likely would’ve never done Iraq, cosied up to the neo-con/liberal war machine in America. Likely many of Blair’s horrendous reforms that have ruined Britain forever would’ve never happened if he had lived.

[@kevinwellwrought2024]

Sir Tony Blair is a handsome genius.

[@Keracher94]

Evil genius

[@akaashrishi]

we seek to dine on the Ladypool Road one year

[@RAMSEYM2402]

Thanks to Tony Blair, we now have a UK I don't recognise.

[@alancassell566]

The acquisition of power.. The maintenance of power... What do you want power for... What do you want to do with power....

[@patrickmccutcheon9361]

Ask Boris Johnson. It is all he wanted and, when he got it, had no idea of what to do other than favours for his chums and party time.

[@alancassell566]

Tony blair 's greatest mistake... 1997.. Change the electoral system to av + PR.. FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH... EVERY GENERAL ELECTION AFTER 2005.. AV+

[@darkstar223]

New labour was not a revolution, is a gross understatement, distortion and a clear lack of any historical or political understanding of those events. What new labour is and will always be is devolution

[@folasadegiwa6305]

thank so much miss folasade giwa safiyat thank so mich good blessing you todary am my she worke for policet people agin GOV people agin thank so much good blessing you todary am ?

[@chrisbarker1046]

Brown was a great chancellor and if things had fell differently could have been a great university. A thoroughly good men I think.

[@simonlee8889]

You jest? He fucked over millions of pension investors by doing The City's bidding then took jobs on the boards of the same set of thieves..

[@bluegtturbo]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@frankknight7968]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@syedadeelhussain2691]

Tony didn't realize that Brown was his biggest political opponent. Also, most of the Banking Failures and other financial crises that arose in the aftermath of Northern Rock and the Lehman Brothers Fiascos was since Brown was increasing the monetary base of the British Economy, which went completely unnoticed. The Broad Money Supply M2 Figures should be studied from FY 2000 onwards to see the number of speculative credits that were created, which led to excessive financial market indulgences, growth in private-sector greed, ALM Mismatches across retail banks, prodigious growth in home retail financing with poor underwriting credit standards, unchecked investment banking derivative trading activities of the largest asset management and banking companies, and exotic /structured financial product development with complex payoffs, making risk management functions incapacitated. Brown and the HM Treasury actually didn't tip-off the FSA or the BOE, which was his NO1 policy mistake made as the chancellor.

[@patrickmccutcheon9361]

Problem was the intellectual arrogance of the man thinking himself to be the greatest Chancellor. Since being turfed out of office, it is interesting that nowadays he makes the case for a Scotland remaining united with England. In between his rare public appearances he must wonder where it all went wrong and what, with his undoubted intellect, he should have done differently. Or maybe like Blair on the justification for war against Saddam, he is unrepentant.

[@pancakeslayer101]

@Bessie Hillum this is a fucking stupid comment because you can't make policies on intution regradless, and research should always be grounded in emperics

[@yellyman5483]

Compared to Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and the rest of the Tories, Gordon Brown is a saint.

[@NicholasWarnertheFirst]

Well said.

[@christopher9727]

Only Jesus Christ blood can cleanse us of are sins come to Jesus Christ today Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void. The Holy Spirit can lead you guide and confort you through it all Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@199019852007]

What's the music at 11:09

[@TheParisthething]

New labourr.... worse than Thatcher - Lemmy

[@estebancomulet]

say what you like about Blair, Brown, Campbell et al, they were formidable politicians with actual beliefs, who had a clear strategy to get into power, which they ruthlessly fulfilled., and once in power, doggedly met their vision whilst attempting to control the narrative - yes Blair was messianic, but he won the elections, brown was the unsung hero who handled the domestic side, while blair went on his foreign missions (including the enormous follow of Iraq). But the latter aside, the did a huge amount of good. And compared with today's shower, history will judge them much more favourable than they were at the time...even Alistair Campbell, who at the time was derided as all style over substance, will be seen as a wise, more substantive figure than almost all the current labour or tory front benches combined.

[@steveweinstein3222]

Brown keeps fidgeting with his hair, and it still looks as though he just woke up. It may sound superficial, but it signifies a certain insecurity about his self-presentation. Blair was the opposite; he always knew he had a mega-watt smile, and he knew when to flash it.

[@passiveaggressive6175]

There is no way that Brown would have made a good prime minister when Labour was first elected in 1997, or even won the election had he been leader. He is exceptionally bright but he never had and still lacks the charisma. By all accounts he was a terrible prime minster. He was indecisive, bullish and borderline incompetent

[@smithswoodrookie]

Wish Peter Hitchens was interviewed for this

[@ismaeladen2582]

Two War Criminals…..How are they not in The Hague?

[@jonathancooper4914]

Bliar is one of British history’s greatest monsters.

[@nred9325]

I was wondering what if Gordon Brown became the leader of the labour after Smith died? Can he win the 97 election? And if he wins as PM what would happen then?

[@mjc01]

18:32 "didn't trust us", "didn't trust us", "didn't trust us". So rather than getting people to trust you, and persuading them: just change your policies. In the larger sense then Thatcher (or "Neo-liberalism") was STILL setting the agenda, no matter what Blair said.

[@casteretpollux]

Yes

[@th8257]

Err - one of the major reasons they didn't trust labour was BECAUSE of the policies. You can't win trust if you're preaching things which are completely against what most people want

[@mjc01]

@@th8257 No point in politics then. People "want" what they think is possible unless a choice is offered and arguments advanced. Thatcher's appeal was to FEAR and GREED. These are powerful motivations but they will bring societies (in fact the world) to grief. You are wrong. You will be proved wrong by events in the end - even if there's no-one left to write the history. Don't waste my time by replying.

[@desbest4]

Before 1997 they previously lost THREE elections so they had to reform their policies and principles

[@mjc01]

@@desbest4 This is a LONG game. The granting of universal suffrage was a tactical concession. The choice for the left: concede to the right or shift the overton window. Don't make the mistake of thinking politics is like shopping or that voters' ideas can't change. Labour chose to change instead of to persuade. So in order to "win", in some very significant ways, they chose to lose.

[@alancassell566]

A map to carry labour into government.... Keir starmer.. Where is it?

[@CosmicHyperborean]

Blair and Thatcher jointly destroyed the old Britain.

[@akaashrishi]

imagine having a conception of history like them,,,, that is your mind!!!!!!!!!!! you lived for TV and then Rish wrote...

[@BossySwan]

RIP John Smith 😥