Blair has been judged, verdict on Cameron is still to come

BRIAN Sheridan’s letter (Yorkshire Post, March 13) reveals an interesting insight on the personalities of our two most important contemporary Prime Ministers.

I am in almost total agreement with his contrasting assessment of Blair and Cameron as leaders of this country. Tony Blair was a superficial, unscrupulous, egocentric character but a highly skilled, tactical politician. He possessed immense charm; at his best, he could have persuaded a turkey to look forward to a Christmas dinner. But, in my opinion, he did for Britain, over his 11 bankrupt years, what a gas-fired oven does to that unfortunate bird. In the early years of his premiership, even prominent Establishment figures regarded him in such high respect, it looked as if he could walk on water. In hindsight, his ruinous legacy, strongly aided by the egregious Brown, would now require him to use a periscope for such perambulations.

Blair’s overriding ambition was to retain power and cut an imposing figure on the world stage. He stopped at nothing to achieve the former and surrendered much of our sovereignty to achieve the latter.

David Cameron, in contrast to the early years of Blair, has suffered a sharp decline in popularity. It is not surprising. The Labour PM, together with Gordon Brown, couldn’t have prepared a more sticky wicket for Cameron to bat on, especially as his partner Nick Clegg at the other end, is always intent on running him out. Blair inherited a benign, relatively debt-free economy; Cameron, an horrendous, debt-inundated one in the middle of a world recession.

When things got hot, Blair relinquished his aim of reforming the benefits system and removed the laudable Frank Field; subsequent tinkering made the system “not fit for purpose”.

So far, Cameron has valiantly resisted the deafening clamour to weaken the radical welfare reforms of Ian Duncan Smith.

And, in education, in spite of Tony Blair’s main pre-election concerns, things went downhill and little of constructive note was done. Under Cameron, the Gove reforms may be controversial but they are brave and a praiseworthy attempt to address a disastrous decline as judged by international ratings.

Blair used unfettered immigration as a cynical tool to vastly increase the Labour vote. Millions came in, risking social instability and extreme stress on public services, a situation now even admitted and criticised by the Miliband hierarchy – erstwhile activists in the plan; there’s no doubt though, they’ll gratefully accept the extra votes generated for their party.

The economy under Labour, overseen by Brown and Blair, was a giant bubble. Government spending rose by 58 per cent and in order to rebalance the economy and create essential growth and enterprise – the Cameron government has determinedly cut state spending – so far by three per cent; once again brave and unpopular, but crucial in achieving a long-term solution to Britain’s most pressing problem.

All top politicians are essentially single-minded careerists but in serving the public interest Cameron is streets ahead of the disingenuous Blair.

History has already partially judged Tony Blair; the defining judgment on David Cameron is yet to come.

From: Jack Brown, Lamb Lane, Monk Bretton, Barnsley.

BARNARDO’S and the Child Poverty Action Group are correct (Yorkshire Post, March 20). The Tories are totally shameless in their diversion of State cash into the pockets of their own. We have millions of unemployed males – record numbers of young males – yet we are bribing females to deny their natural inclinations as we did not even in the dire circumstances of two world wars. All MPs – almost all middle class themselves – agree on this lunatic, anti-family policy.

From: Mike Billany, Hedon.

THE general view seems to be that George Osborne’s Budget is fairly neutral with nothing for those retired after many years of paying our national insurance and taxes, as well as pension contributions.

Why not give the first £20,000pa personal pension income as tax free?

Seems that dropping the tax by 1p on a pint of beer is somewhat silly, saving someone who drinks five pints a day, seven days a week, some 35p. Wow, some saving for the drinker but nothing for the pensioner.