ES Views: We should ignore Tony Blair’s discredited views

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Tony Blair recently spoke of the fate of the country if Brexit goes ahead
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24 January 2018
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Tony Blair’s views on British politics are correct to some degree [“Labour worse under Corbyn than it was with militant in the Eighties, claims Blair”, January 22].

He is right to say that we should not turn our backs on Donald Trump. While I would not “welcome” him, we must recognise that he is the US President and Brexit will force us to at least tolerate him and his views as we try to agree deals with his country. Blair is also correct that under Theresa May, the Tory Right is in the ascendant.

Where I disagree, however, is with his attitude towards Jeremy Corbyn. Blair fails to see the state Britain is in: we have endured a stagnant decade since the financial crisis which the then Labour government failed to see coming. And with the disaster of Carillion’s failure still fresh in the mind, Blair should have been asked what he now thought of his government’s headlong dash into making PFI deals, which it has become clear are disastrously bad for our public services.

Britain needs a complete change of approach to economics. It is unclear whether a government under Corbyn would achieve this but it will at least try to create a fairer Britain — something Blair utterly failed to do while in power.
David Reed


Tony Blair’s prophesies on key strategic matters have consistently been discredited, whether about Iraq or the euro. Historically, as a country, we have moved to the Left or Right because the centre lacks any vision or leadership. It is now a politically correct space inhabited by an “elite” who put their own interests ahead of those they supposedly represent.

Their domain is dominated by the fear factor, which most people have now become anaesthetised to. It seems that people like Blair and his disciples — and many of our MPs —cannot accept that the people have found their voice. Lions no longer want to be led by donkeys.
David Caillard


How ironic to see Tony Blair sounding off against Brexit in your newspaper. It was his open-door policy which in 2004 allowed unchecked immigration from the 10 new EU member states and caused the subsequent pressure on our schools, the NHS and housing. His social engineering was the biggest cause of the Brexit vote.
Paul Wylie


We should not listen to Tony Blair. After all, this is the man who introduced divisive “faith” schools to indoctrinate generations into separatism — despite the damning evidence against such practices from Northern Ireland. Making the right to an education contingent upon religious affiliation is a form of extremism that must be addressed.
M Cerny


Non-fatal stabbings must be publicised

The Met’s worrying gun crime figures, which show a 13 per cent increase in the number of shootings, to 350 a year, are undoubtedly of great concern, as indeed is the current knife crime epidemic.

These shocking figures should pose questions for the Met. Shootings are being carried out at the rate of almost one a day yet how often do we read about them in the media? Stabbings are even more frequent and we await London’s definitive figures for the year.

In the first week of 2018 the Met’s figures show that there were 69 stabbings, thus we can assume that there would be more than 2,000 “street stabbings” Londonwide in the course of a year.

The fact remains that almost 80 per cent of non-fatal stabbings are never solved. London, and indeed the country, is facing a major crisis in policing through no fault of the overwhelmed officers. This unpalatable fact should not be hidden from the public.
Chris Hobbs


"The bus is about to move" - for now

We have heard loud and clear that the initial implementation of our “please hold on, the bus is about to move” trial has not been right and we have made adjustments in response to feedback from Londoners.

It is not the case, though, that the trial is taking place out of fear of litigation by passengers getting injured on buses. Our motivation is solely the wellbeing of the passengers we are proud to serve every day.

There are around 5,000 accidents on buses a year, mostly from slips, trips and falls. While we have an extensive programme in place, with bus companies and their drivers being asked to take care when pulling away and stopping, we believe reminding passengers to hold on will help reduce the number of injuries.

The trial will last for four weeks, after which we will evaluate its impact on passenger safety and discuss what should happen next.
Claire Mann, director of bus operations, Transport for London


Southern line still offers pure misery

Angie Doll, Southern’s passenger services director, paints a different picture from the one I see as a regular commuter on the Victoria-Brighton service [Letters, January 22]. When the Tannoy announces the trains have been cancelled “due to shortage of staff”, one is given the runaround.

The trains after the theatres close are just four carriages long, meaning many tired passengers must stand for a 60-mile journey. I suggest Ms Doll continues painting rosy pictures — but using a canvas and imagination.
Bruce Montague


Lord Robathan also made defence cuts

It is hypocritical of former defence minister Lord Robathan to complain that funding cuts had gone “down to the bone” [January 22].

Robathan was part of the team that masterminded swingeing and short-sighted cuts that led to a significant depletion of capabilities and saw people lose their jobs. Perhaps he should have spoken out more strongly back then?
Bill Veazey


Johnson won't tell story on NHS

So Boris Johnson says the NHS should get £100 million more [January 22] but not that it should come from the police or education, or via taxes. Johnson shoulders no responsibility for the words he says.
Tony Howarth

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Why no mention of the Lions' win?

Millwall won 4-3 against Leeds at Elland Road on Saturday in what everyone described as one of the most exciting games in the Championship this season.

However, I could not see a single line about the game when I opened Monday’s sports pages in the Evening Standard. Aren’t Millwall a London team too? No one likes us — but we do care.
Terry Denman

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