What Blair thoughtabout PMQs, Iraqand George Bush

On the decision to go to war with Iraq: "I am unable to satisfy the desire even of some of my supporters, who would like me to say: it was a mistake but one made in good faith. Friends opposed to the war think I'm being obstinate; others, less friendly, think I'm delusional. To both I may say: keep an open mind."

On his feelings ahead of his departure: “In a curious way, I felt sorry for the party and I more or less remained like that up to the point of departure. By then, I had come to the clear and settled view that unless Gordon spelt out whether he was New Labour or something different – and defined the ‘something different’ – it was going to be a disaster. I knew it.”

On the Millennium Dome: “I think as bad decisions go, it wasn’t a frightful one ... It wasn’t dreadful. It just wasn’t brilliant ... I looked forward to the evening of the turn of a new millennium with all the fervour of a visit to the dentist.”

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On Prime Minister’s Questions: “PMQs was the most nerve-racking, discombobulating, nail-biting, bowel-moving, terror-inspiring, courage-draining experience in my prime ministerial life, without question.”

On the support he received from his wife Cherie following the death of Labour leader John Smith: “That night she cradled me in her arms and soothed me; told me what I needed to be told; strengthened me; made me feel that what I was about to do was right.”

On walking into Downing Street following Labour’s landslide 1997 general election victory: “My predominant feeling was fear, and of a sort unlike anything I had felt before.”

On former US President George Bush: “One of the most ludicrous caricatures of George is that he was a dumb idiot who stumbled into the presidency.”

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Describing a barbecue at Balmoral with the Royal Family in 1998: “The Royals cook and serve the guests. They do the washing-up. You think I’m joking, but I’m not. They put the gloves on and stick their hands in the sink. You sit there having eaten, the Queen asks if you’ve finished, she stacks the plates up and goes off to the sink.”

On the Freedom of Information Act: “Freedom of Information. Three harmless words. I look at those words as I write them and feel like shaking my head till it drops off my shoulders. You idiot. You naive, foolish, irresponsible, nincompoop.”