Cherie Blair has given an interview to Tatler magazine in which she says that she worries all the time about not having enough money. The wife of the ex-prime minister, herself a high earning barrister, and a multi-millionaire, says that she is conditioned by her upbringing, which was poor working class. Her grandmother apparently was obsessed about not having a pauper’s funeral. It was all about being “respectable poor”.
Mrs Blair has always been a hate figure, perhaps because she was the first prime minister’s wife to really have a working career, and, quite a high profile and confrontational one, which she continued to pursue whilst they lived in Downing Street. Her work as a barrister, specialising in human rights often involved her working on cases against the government. I must admit I was ready to dislike her intensely as much as I disked her husband, but, on the few occasions I heard her talk, she came over as reasonably sensible.
But without any doubt she has always had a reputation, and I can’t see that it could be unfounded, so entrenched is it, for being a money grabber. If she is, then short of marrying Tiger Woods or David Beckham, she chose the right guy. Tony Blair is estimated to have earned around £12 million since he left Downing Street two and a half years ago, with another £4.5 million on the way for advance on his soon to be published memoirs.
Blair seems to have a collection of jobs, in a world of unemployment, none of which he seems to spend very much time at, nor, for that matter, is any good at. But it is public speaking which earns him the bulk of his money. It is reckoned that he may be the most highly paid public speaker in the world, so I guess he must be good at that.
Amazing!
Despite what is being revealed in the inquiry into the Iraq war, it astonishes me that people can still bear to be in the same room with this man, let alone listen to his voice.
Amazing!
Getting back to Mrs Blair, one of the most astounding things that she says in the interview is that she thinks that MPs have been pilloried over their expenses. She says “They saw it as an allowance, which is not the same thing”. Oh well, that’s alright then. If they saw it as an allowance that is total justification for telling the Commons authorities that they lived at one address in order to extract maximum expenses, whilst telling the tax authorities that they lived at another address in order to maximise tax avoidance. Perfectly alright. A totally different thing. Right! Bampot!
Mrs Blair has always been a hate figure, perhaps because she was the first prime minister’s wife to really have a working career, and, quite a high profile and confrontational one, which she continued to pursue whilst they lived in Downing Street. Her work as a barrister, specialising in human rights often involved her working on cases against the government. I must admit I was ready to dislike her intensely as much as I disked her husband, but, on the few occasions I heard her talk, she came over as reasonably sensible.
But without any doubt she has always had a reputation, and I can’t see that it could be unfounded, so entrenched is it, for being a money grabber. If she is, then short of marrying Tiger Woods or David Beckham, she chose the right guy. Tony Blair is estimated to have earned around £12 million since he left Downing Street two and a half years ago, with another £4.5 million on the way for advance on his soon to be published memoirs.
Blair seems to have a collection of jobs, in a world of unemployment, none of which he seems to spend very much time at, nor, for that matter, is any good at. But it is public speaking which earns him the bulk of his money. It is reckoned that he may be the most highly paid public speaker in the world, so I guess he must be good at that.
Amazing!
Despite what is being revealed in the inquiry into the Iraq war, it astonishes me that people can still bear to be in the same room with this man, let alone listen to his voice.
Amazing!
Getting back to Mrs Blair, one of the most astounding things that she says in the interview is that she thinks that MPs have been pilloried over their expenses. She says “They saw it as an allowance, which is not the same thing”. Oh well, that’s alright then. If they saw it as an allowance that is total justification for telling the Commons authorities that they lived at one address in order to extract maximum expenses, whilst telling the tax authorities that they lived at another address in order to maximise tax avoidance. Perfectly alright. A totally different thing. Right! Bampot!
She's certainly wasn't conditioned by her childhood to that particular piece of thinking. I suspect her granny wouldn't be too proud of it.
It goes down as a “let them eat cake” moment from my point of view.
It goes down as a “let them eat cake” moment from my point of view.
Her husband set up legislation (taking the European Court of Human Rights as UK law)and set her up for life as a human rights lawyer. The Blairs have been lining their pockets at taxpayers expense since 1983 when Blair was first elected.
ReplyDeleteQM:
ReplyDeleteSeems to me a lot of politicians manage to arrange things that set themsleves up for life.
It would be a good idea of mrs Blair concerned herslef with teh lack of freedoms that mr Brown's government is now responsible for. I hear that plods in London routinely stop people taking photographs of places like St Paul's cathedral...
I read a story on this in todays Herald, unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteBut surely this is the perfect example of the new-labour mentality? More money grabbing than Thatcherites, more hungery for more than a stark raving neo-con and a bigger traitor to their own ideological family than Thatcherism was to the Liberals!
There is not enough money in the world to make up for that face and, as for the war criminal, it is to be hoped that Satan's piles are giving him grief and he is in a really bad mood with his red-hot poker when Mr Blair comes a-visiting.
ReplyDeleteBrownlie,
ReplyDeleteCome now, no one should be wished into hell. Everlasting torture and pain? A little harsh!
Just put him on trial in the UK- charged with misleading HRH parliament, the people and committing major war crimes in contradiction of the conventions on human rights and the proper conduct of war.
Am sure thats enough to be getting on with to see him convicted, and placed in prison in the UK. Solitary confinement for 3 months to start his life sentence.
Dean,
ReplyDeleteOkay, then, first do as much of his life sentence as he can and then go a-visiting!
Hum....
ReplyDeleteMaybe you two should apply to become judges at The Hague?
He should certainly pay some way or another for the hundreds of thousands of deaths he has on his hands, and the poor kids who have had to grow up minus a limb or two, and a family, in grinding poverty because this man's actions deprived them of their living, education, future.
But, as he is a committed Christian, I dare say his God will deal with him as he sees fit.
A committed Christian...as a Christian I'm not sure I'm happy with that!
ReplyDelete:P
Dean....
ReplyDeleteLOL. I dunno. He says he is deeply religious, and he made commitments to the Catholic Church , indeed to the Pope himself.
I'm not sure why, as an ex-prime minister he was able to speak directly to the Pope. If it had been me, I doubt Benedictus would have given me any of his time. I am also a little on the cynical side about the fact that he waited to do his conversion until he was no longer requiring votes from us.
As a non believer I don't feel it's my place to comment on his level of committment, but I am a bit open mouthed about it all.
Its good to be open mouthed about it all! Thats why your a blogger sir!
ReplyDelete...on another note about Cherie, have you noticed how she has an amasing sense of PR instinct? Even now she can get herself into the broadsheets with a story as largely irrelevent as 'i worry about money'...someone ought to have told her 'yeh, and so does the rest of the country thanks to your husbands term in office'...
Dean. To be honest I want to slap people like her. I know she's saying that she has these hang ups because of the poverty she lived in when she was young, but I just want to take her down some of the places I have to work in and point out poeple and houses to her, whole streets and estates and say....
ReplyDeleteLook at that you stupid woman. These people have REAL worries about money. They can't afford their presciptions; they can't afford food a couple of days a week; they have to go to bed cold at night; they walk across town to work because they haven't got the bus fare. That's what worry is. You haven't a clue!
Doubtless she was paid handsomely for her interview with Tatler.
Well said Tris.
ReplyDeleteShe is however the face of the modern Labour party, obsessed with the false notion that they represent the poor when under their watch the gap between the richest and poorest 10% has never been wider [even than under thatcher].
Indeed poverty is over 6 millions, if we use the same count that was used when Thatcher was in office! So Labour have done an even better job and destroying our country, abandoning the poor, and then lying about their 'record' in office.
It is all our duties to highlight the failings of Browns regime, and encourage voters to vote for anyone but Labour! [in my case I would naturaly encourage you all to vote Tory, but hey-ho I feel its a losing battle sadly]
Yes Dean:
ReplyDeleteI see this grinding poverty and, what's worse complete loss of any hope, on a daily basis. I'm with you. We MUST get rid of this UK government.
You may have difficulty persuading Scots that the Tories are the best deal for them (and obviously I hope you do!), but I hope you guys will prevail in England.
Then I hope we can trust your party to try to made a real difference to people's lives. And not just the top people.
I detest Brown's "class war" posturing of the last few days, and I hope it comes back to bite him on the arse, but there is always a suspicion that the Conservatives, once in power, will do whatever thy can to help the rich and sod the poor.
Dean, you need to exert all your influence, because I know you're a one nation guy, to make sure that Thatcherism is dead. We're certainly not living in one nation now.