Keir Starmer slammed after calling Tony Blair ‘very successful’ and dismissing knighthood protests

Tony Blair caricature


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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed criticism of Sir Tony Blair’s knighthood, insisting the former prime minister deserves the honour. He argued that Blair was “very successful” as PM.

In 2003, former lawyer Starmer wrote an opinion piece arguing that the invasion of Iraq would be “unlawful”.

Sirs of a feather

More than half a million people have signed a petition calling for Blair’s appointment by the Queen to the Order of the Garter – the oldest and most senior British Order of Chivalry – to be rescinded over his domestic record and the Iraq War. Starmer insisted the honour is not a “thorny” issue and that Blair had been a “very successful prime minister”.

 

A petition calling for Blair to be stripped of the honour had been signed by more than 544,000 people by the morning of 4 January. Claiming to “respect” the views of those signing the petition while simultaneously dismissing them, Starmer argued  on ITV’s Good Morning Britain:

I don’t think it’s thorny at all; I think he deserves the honour. Obviously I respect the fact that people have different views.

I understand there are strong views on the Iraq War. There were back at the time and there still are, but that does not detract from the fact that Tony Blair was a very successful prime minister of this country and made a huge difference to the lives of millions of people in this country.

During another policy-free reboot of his vision for the UK on 4 January, Starmer claimed that Blair made “made Britain a better country”. He did not comment on whether Blair made Iraq or Afghanistan ‘better countries’:

The Breakthrough Party summed up Starmer’s speech:

“Two cheeks”

Starmer’s intervention has been slammed online:

“The least deserving person”

The petition to strip Blair of his knighthood is approaching 600,000 signatories at the time of writing. It reads:

Tony Blair caused irreparable damage to both the constitution of the United Kingdom and to the very fabric of the nation’s society. He was personally responsible for causing the death of countless innocent, civilian lives and servicement in various conflicts. For this alone he should be held accountable for war crimes.

Tony Blair is the least deserving person of any public honour

Meanwhile, Blair’s knighthood has exposed everything’s that wrong about Britain:

Featured image via Pete Birkinshaw – Wikimedia

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  • Show Comments

    2. The disgusting award of a Knighthood to Tony B’Liar is another nail in the coffin of the Constitutional Monarchy. The British Establishment go around lining their pockets at the commons expense and slapping each other on their backs while the people that make Britain great, the public, are deprived of services and respect.

      It’s time the ‘royals’, nothing but hereditary Dictators, are pensioned off and replaced by actors that can be fired for misbehavior and are attractive for the tourists.

      Without their royal ‘honour’ their would be no one to warm the seats in the House of Lords, another pointless bene for the wealthy.

      It’s time Britain was know as the ROB, the Republic Of Britain. It’s what we’re known for.

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