The Blair legacy Right up until the premiership of Anthony Eden, there was very little public criticism of the behaviour of prime ministers as a general rule, other than Neville Chamberlain. Because access to information by the general public only became easy with the advent of television, the average citizen was generally politically lethargic. At the same time the politicians in power, were people dedicated to politics, and either through their own wealth, or being sponsored by political factions rather than being trained at University, did not accept the post as a profession, they did so in order to right the wrongs. Up until Maggie Thatcher, the Cabinets of the governing parties carried a high proportion of older and more experienced politicians.
With Tony Blair and New Labour there was not only a sweeping change in communications because not only was television a universal commentator, but there was also the computer. With Tony Blair there was also a serious change in the way in which politics were conducted, it was a presidential philosophy, and anyone in the Cabinet who disagreed with the PM either resigned or disappeared from office. This was a period of continuous change of portfolio of the members of the Cabinet, they were no sooner in one post, than they were in another. The way in which the handover was done, in which the next Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, was elected by Tony Blair rather than the country, was yet another divergence from the norm. The Blair philosophy also instituted many young and inexperienced politicians to high rank, presumably because they were easier to control, and Blair also openly instituted the spin-doctor. Spurious lies were also a feature. The result of all these changes has been the mess we are in today, where the public not only has no respect any more for our political system, a high proportion are disgusted. There has been a serious lack of control since Gordon Brown took over, in areas like finance, control of reaction to the media, and the almost reflex reaction, rather than serious consideration, which has allowed the media to dictate what is important and demands instant attention.
The electorate, those who are not totally apathetic or disillusioned, are demanding an election, which is being resisted, for now at least. The fact that the choice of politicians who will govern us whichever party finally wins, will be virtually a rubberstamp of the ones they beat, with the same lack of experience, the same personal agenda, and apart from one or two, fearful of losing their job, really bodes little change.