Tony blair net worth
The High Court ruled that, although the crime of aggression was recognised in international law, it was not an offence under UK law, and therefore the prosecution could not proceed. Some, such as John Rentoul , John McTernan , Geoffrey Robertson and Iain Dale , have countered accusations that Blair committed war crimes during his premiership, often highlighting how no case against Blair has ever made it to trial, suggesting that Blair broke no laws.
Blair himself has defended his involvement in the Iraq War by highlighting the findings of the Iraq Survey Group , which found that Saddam had attempted to get sanctions lifted by undermining them, which would have enabled him to restart his WMD program. The Chilcot report issued after the conclusion of the Iraq Inquiry was published on 6 July ; it criticised Blair for joining the US in the war in Iraq in Afterward, Blair issued a statement and held a two-hour press conference to apologise, to justify the decisions he had made in "in good faith" and to deny allegations that the war had led to a significant increase in terrorism.
He stated: "whether people agree or disagree with my decision to take military action against Saddam Hussein; I took it in good faith and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country. I will take full responsibility for any mistakes without exception or excuse. I will at the same time say why, nonetheless, I believe that it was better to remove Saddam Hussein and why I do not believe this is the cause of the terrorism we see today whether in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world".
In an op-ed published by The Washington Post on 8 February , Blair said: "Where Iran is exercising military interference, it should be strongly pushed back. Where it is seeking influence, it should be countered. Where its proxies operate, it should be held responsible. Where its networks exist, they should be disrupted. Where its leaders are saying what is unacceptable, they should be exposed.
Where the Iranian people — highly educated and connected, despite their government — are protesting for freedom, they should be supported. State Department and Saudi Arabia. Blair did not want the UK to leave the EU and called for a referendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement. Blair also maintained that once the terms deciding how the UK leaves the EU were known, the people should be able to vote again on those terms.
Blair stated, "We know the options for Brexit. Parliament will have to decide on one of them. If Parliament can't then it should decide to go back to the people. However, after the general election in which the pro-withdrawal Conservative party won a sizeable majority of seats, Blair argued that remain supporters should "face up to one simple point: we lost" and "pivot to a completely new position We're going to have to be constructive about it and see how Britain develops a constructive relationship with Europe and finds its new niche in the world.
He affirmed his belief in the continued strength of American soft power and the need to address Iranian military aggression, European military underinvestment, and illicit Chinese trade practices. He said, however, "I think it's fair to say a lot of political leaders in Europe are dismayed by what they see as the isolationism growing in America and the seeming indifference to alliances.
But I think there will come a time when America decides in its own interest to reengage, so I'm optimistic that America will in the end understand that this is not about relegating your self-interest behind the common interest; it's an understanding that by acting collectively in alliance with others you promote your own interests.
In August , Blair criticised the withdrawal of U. Blair admitted mistakes in the management of the war but warned that "the reaction to our mistakes has been, unfortunately, further mistakes". Blair was a critic of Jeremy Corbyn 's leadership of the Labour Party , seeing it as too left-wing. He wrote in an opinion piece for The Guardian during the party's leadership election that if the party elected Corbyn, it would face a "rout, possibly annihilation" at the next election.
Keir Starmer 's leadership of the party has been widely compared to Blair's leadership and New Labour, having taken the party rightward to gain electability. Initially saying in that Starmer lacked a compelling message, Blair has since reacted more positively towards Starmer's leadership of the party, telling him he's "done a great job" in reforming the party during a Tony Blair Institute for Global Change's Future of Britain conference in Blair married Cherie Booth on 29 March Blair's financial assets are structured in an opaque manner, and estimates of their extent vary widely.
In October , Blair was named in the Pandora Papers. In , Blair referred to the role of his Christian faith in his decision to go to war in Iraq, stating that he had prayed about the issue, and saying that God would judge him for his decision: "I think if you have faith about these things, you realise that judgement is made by other people According to Press Secretary Alastair Campbell's diary, Blair often read the Bible before taking any important decisions.
Tony blair family tree
He states that Blair had a "wobble" and considered changing his mind on the eve of the bombing of Iraq in A longer exploration of his faith can be found in an interview with Third Way Magazine. There he says that "I was brought up as [a Christian], but I was not in any real sense a practising one until I went to Oxford. There was an Australian priest at the same college as me who got me interested again.
In a sense, it was a rediscovery of religion as something living, that was about the world around me rather than some sort of special one-to-one relationship with a remote Being on high. Suddenly I began to see its social relevance. I began to make sense of the world". At one point Alastair Campbell intervened in an interview, preventing Blair from answering a question about his Christianity, explaining, "We don't do God.
Cherie Blair's friend and "spiritual guru" Carole Caplin is credited with introducing her and her husband to various New Age symbols and beliefs, including "magic pendants" known as "BioElectric Shields". The couple, wearing only bathing costumes, took part in a rebirthing procedure, which involved smearing mud and fruit over each other's bodies while sitting in a steam bath.
Tony blair biography children
The move was described as "a private matter". The Pope and his advisors criticised some of Blair's political actions, but followed up with a reportedly unprecedented red carpet welcome, which included the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cormac Murphy-O'Connor , who would be responsible for Blair's Catholic instruction. In May , Blair was invested as a paramount chief by the chiefs and people of the village of Mahera in Sierra Leone.
The honour was bestowed upon him in recognition of the role played by his government in the Sierra Leone Civil War. On 22 May , Blair received an honorary law doctorate from Queen's University Belfast , alongside Bertie Ahern, for distinction in public service and roles in the Northern Ireland peace process. On 16 February , Blair was awarded the Dan David Prize by Tel Aviv University for "exceptional leadership and steadfast determination in helping to engineer agreements and forge lasting solutions to areas in conflict".
He was awarded the prize in May Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read View source View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from to For other uses, see Anthony Blair disambiguation and Tony Blair disambiguation. The Right Honourable. Cherie Booth.
Leo Blair father. Chorister School Fettes College. Tony Blair's voice. Blair on the 10 Downing Street YouTube channel and how web communications can improve political engagement Recorded 21 June This article is part of a series about.
Tony blair biography education policy
Education and legal career. See also: Shadow Cabinet of Tony Blair. Prime Minister — Military intervention and the War on Terror. Relationship with Parliament. Events before resignation.
Tony blair autobiography
For a chronological guide, see Labour Party leadership election UK. Further information: Blairism. Contacts with UK media proprietors. Relationship with Labour Party. See also: Blair—Brown deal. Post-premiership —present. Main article: A Journey. Accusations of war crimes. Political interventions and views.
Response to the Iraq Inquiry. Further information: Findings of the Iraq Inquiry. Iran—West tensions. BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 May Retrieved 15 May The Week. The Guardian. ISSN The Independent. Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press. Archived from the original on 13 October Retrieved 18 November Anthony Charles Lynton, Tony ".
Who's Who. Subscription or UK public library membership required. Archived from the original on 5 September Retrieved 18 September The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 9 May Retrieved 12 January The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 May Retrieved 14 May Archived from the original on 30 March Ballyshannon Town Council.
Archived from the original on 21 November Retrieved 22 November Her mother's maiden name was Lipsett and Hazel was born over the shop. Archived from the original on 8 March Archived from the original on 25 March Retrieved 8 June The Observer. Archived from the original on 4 December Chronicle Live. Archived from the original on 6 September Retrieved 6 September Durham Chorister School website.
Archived from the original on 21 October Archived from the original on 27 March Oxford University Press. Film YouTube video. Archived from the original on 14 February Retrieved 24 January Archived from the original on 28 September Retrieved 25 September Archived from the original on 13 August Retrieved 13 August I suddenly thought the world's full of these extraordinary causes and injustices and here's this this guy Trotsky who was so inspired by all of this that he went out to create a Russian revolution and change the world.
It was like a light going on. Archived from the original on 12 August Archived from the original on 21 December Retrieved 14 December University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 19 November Retrieved 10 May Irish Times. Archived from the original on 4 May Retrieved 21 February Electronic Democracy and the UK Elections.
Glen Segell Publishers. ISBN Retrieved 4 December The Glasgow Herald.
Tony blair pictures: In November Blair launched the Tony Blair Sports Foundation, which aims to "increase childhood participation in sports activities, especially in the North East of England, where a larger proportion of children are socially excluded, and to promote overall health and prevent childhood obesity.".
Retrieved 27 August The Daily Telegraph. Press Association. Archived from the original on 20 December Retrieved 4 February George Ferguson. Archived from the original on 5 August Retrieved 15 August Archived from the original on 11 May Archived from the original on 12 December Blair Unbound.
Logos 3. Archived from the original on 18 November Retrieved 8 November BBC Programme Catalogue. Archived from the original on 14 July Retrieved 20 April Retrieved 2 May Archived from the original on 7 June Archived from the original on 11 October Retrieved 1 March Archived from the original on 27 January Archived from the original on 2 August Retrieved 11 May Archived from the original on 27 November British Political Speech.
Archived from the original on 11 November Retrieved 21 July Archived from the original on 21 July How We Got Here: The '70s. New York City: Basic Books. Retrieved 23 January The Labour Party. Archived from the original on 16 November Let Us Face the Future. Fabian Society. Archived from the original on 30 January Archived from the original on 23 December Archived from the original on 1 September Retrieved 10 September BT News.
Archived from the original on 1 February The Labour Party won its greatest-ever number of seats in a landslide general election victory on this day in , ending 18 years of Conservative rule In their worst election defeat since , the Conservatives retained just MPs, with their smallest share of the vote since under the Duke of Wellington. Via this Archived 12 March at the Wayback Machine article.
Prime Minister's Office. Archived from the original on 4 June Archived from the original on 10 September Retrieved 7 February After a brief attempt to secure a parliamentary seat in , he remained undeterred and, in , successfully won a seat in Parliament for the Sedgefield District. Blair's charisma and hard work earned him recognition within the party, allowing him to climb the ranks swiftly under the leadership of Neil Kinnock, who promoted him in various spokesperson roles, notably on treasury and economic affairs.
When John Smith passed away in , Blair's dedication and vision led to his election as the youngest leader of the Labour Party. Embracing the "New Labour" ideology, Blair reformulated the party's agenda to resonate with a broader spectrum of voters. Under his leadership, Blair championed policies aimed at economic modernization, crime deterrence, and the enhancement of local government authority.
During his tenure as Prime Minister from to , Tony Blair achieved significant milestones that shaped modern Britain. His administration is credited with implementing major reforms, such as granting the Bank of England independence regarding interest rates and establishing the national minimum wage. Blair played a crucial role in the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, which effectively laid the groundwork for lasting peace in Northern Ireland after years of conflict.
Under his leadership, the Labour Party won three consecutive general elections, marking a significant departure from previous Conservative dominance. However, Blair's time in office was not without controversies. His close alliance with U. President George W. Bush, particularly during the lead-up to the Iraq War in , drew heavy criticism and sparked widespread protests across the UK.
The decision to invade Iraq, justified by allegations of weapons of mass destruction, led to a significant decline in public trust and approval ratings for Blair and the Labour Party. These actions culminated in a turbulent political legacy, resulting in heightened calls for his resignation and ultimately leading to his departure from office in After stepping down from his role as Prime Minister in , Tony Blair remained engaged in various global initiatives and public causes.
He became the quartet representative to the Middle East, working alongside the United States, United Nations, European Union, and Russia to advance the prospects for Palestinian statehood. His diplomatic efforts aimed to foster peace in a region marked by long-standing conflicts. Blair continued to advocate for various causes, notably focusing on international relations and social issues, leveraging the fame and connections he developed during his political career.
An example of these failures was the death of Victoria Climbie: a report into her death found that it was avoidable had different welfare services which had been in contact with her and her family communicated more effectively with each other. This led to the Children Act of and the publication of Every Child Matters: Change for Children which stated that children should be put at the centre of public services and those services built around their needs, rather than the other way around.
Every Child Matters meant that teachers were expected to liase more with other child professionals as necessary and it also paved the way for a massive expansion of learning support departments which saw an increase of additional support staff in schools working with pupils. The five common outcomes for children emphasised by ECM were:.
Education Maintenance Allowance EMA was paid to students aged who were from lower income families. Students received the funding if they attended all their lessons and achieved their performance targets. The Expansion of Higher Education Traditionally Higher Education was entirely funded by the state which paid not only the tuition fees but also maintenance grants for students to live off while studying.
This was fine while the numbers of students attending university were relatively small, but the steady increase in numbers during the s meant that by the early s the funding of universities had reached crisis point and it was no longer sustainable for the tax payer to carrying on funding Higher Education. Under New Labour the number of university students increased from 1.
Other Education Policies under New Labour Two other historical policies which fed into the policies above which you should know about include: Education Action Zones Education Action Zones were set up to raise the attainment levels of students in low income, inner city areas. By there were 73 EAZs in England, funded by central government with additional funding from business.
An action forum, made up of parents and representatives from local schools and businesses and from local and national government ran each zone. Excellence in Cities The Excellence in Cities programme gradually replaced EAZs, targeting local education authorities in deprived areas. The main initiatives of EiC were special programmes for gifted students, city learning centres with IT facilities, learning mentors and low-cost leasing for home computers.
Various reports evaluating the EiC programme produced mixed results: in general they indicated only limited success and the EiC programme was ended in Specialist schools were very successful in raising standards, however, this was largely because they selected a disproportionate amount of middle class pupils. That group was created to gradually phase in a new common currency that all of its members would use.
On May 20, , Blair's wife, Cherie, gave birth to the couple's fourth child, Leo. The boy was the first child born to a serving British prime minister in years. In the June elections Blair and the Labour Party won easily, marking the first time in the party's history that it won a second full term. Blair took on new duties after the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, Bush —.
Blair visited the leaders of more than seventy countries to seek their support in the war on terrorism, and he met often with President Bush to discuss the results of those meetings. Abse, Leo. Tony Blair. Hinman, Bonnie. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, Rentoul, John. London: Warner Books, Toggle navigation. Father's influence.
Rising up the ranks Blair's father had belonged to the Tory Party also known as the Conservatives, who preferred to maintain traditions and avoid change. Government and individual responsibility Blair realized that the Labour Party had to change its message; it could not win over voters using the old ideas of the welfare state and its emphasis on national industry and union privileges.