Metal Reviews

I can honestly see Cameron, the Conservative chappie, winning. Brown has nowhere near the respect that Blair has... Which would mean right-wing governments in Germany, France, and UK. Is the balance of power slipping?

I don't think the Conservative party is right wing anymore, all the parties are so close to the middle that it barely matters who is in power nowadays.

Yes, I too think that it's likely that Cameron will win next time.

Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that we'll have someone effectively the same as Blair just with a different name, as many would suggest, but more that we'll have a crazy right-wing Tory government that got in under false pretences.

The consevatives will definetley win. In a funny sort of way I'm sad to see Blair go. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.



I don't know. I think for most of us, life will probably amble on just the same. I wouldn't want to be an immigrant though, I bet Tory crackdowns will be severe.



All the parties pretend to be so close to the middle anyways. You only see a parties' true colours when they are elected and there's nothing you can do about it for 4 years. Well, that's democracy for you.

Heh, immigrants will definitely suffer under the Tories, but not because of a crackdown. More likely because there will be even less government intervention to prevent their exploitation, particularly of the undocumented variety. Tories are on the side of big business... how can Tesco make so much money if it doesn't have Chinese people picking its fruit and veg at £2 per day?

I think a lot of democracies are balancing on a knife edge at the moment, including here in Oz. People are beginning to react against powermongering leaders and paying more attention to the bigger picture (such as the environment), yet at the same time there is a sentiment of frustration against liberal ideals that pander towards those "funny foreigners" who are causing so many percieved problems; leading toward a more right-wing attitude.

As for Blair, it is unfortunate he decided to take the path that he did. I always saw him as having enormous potential to make real positive changes.

talk about Blair, what did you think about his "black culture" statements?

Which were?...

So what was the general feeling about Blair in the UK? Was he really the polarizing figure he was oftentimes portrayed to be?

My recollection of when he came in is very fuzzy, being 6 at the time. I think he was supposed to be a breath of fresh air after 18 years of Tory rule. Noone had that much of a problem with him until the Iraq war. Still, he won another election after it, probably "better the devil you know than the devil you don't," that I've already mentioned. In my opinion, he was a farily decent leader, who would be pretty forgettable if it wasn't for one catastrophic decision, that being to join the US in Iraq. It was going to happen without us or not, but I feel we shouldn't have gotten involved. Well that's a pretty rambling summary of what I thought if him.

Man, didnt that enviroment thing come out of nowhere? One day, out of the blue, it just seemed like every politician was talking about it, instead of pretending there was no problem.

Anyway, vote for a minor party in the senate, it stops power mongering! (Well not totally but whatever)

Blair made life for the poor better, but screwed the country on pretty much everything else. I'm sorry to see him go only because of fear of what'll come after.

And the Conservatives are right-wing, make no mistake. Cameron shows his true colours with statements like that one where he said being married would stop criminals criminalising.

Absoulutely. Maybe the rise of the New Right will make people see sense though.

Why the worry about the Conservatives? A lot of Labour policies were old Conservative policies anyway, just repackaged slightly. People have short memories, we had a Conservative government for a long time before Blair came in, and despite what people say, they really weren't too awful, and they at least had some kind of consistency in their policies. Of course now they don't really have much focus, they just spout junk about the environment like everyone else does, but I think it's time for a change anyway.

Whenever there's real trouble, it seems to be with the Tories. Thatcher's anti-society stuff, any time strikers have been shat upon, social welfare in general. Maybe it's my socialist politics talking, but right-wing governments never did much good for anyone.

If Blair's decision on Iraq is what really caused his downfall then I have to give credit to you Brits, as America's fearless leader during that fateful decision obviously still remains.

Downfall?! The fella resigned of his own free will. People may have voted more for others, but Labour's still got a government majority, although from the way the local Council elections went that won't be for very long...

I was basically referring to Mintrude's comments on Blair. I should have said "downfall in the court of public opinion".

PS-And I was giving you Brits credit! Yet you still want to argue semantics.

In Canada the prime minister stepped down, then his an election got forced and his successor voted out because of being part of costing the government 5 million $ or something