Blair’s project
The statement by Tony Blair that the consequences of Brexit were not made clear to the British people beggars belief. “Project Fear” conducted by the Remain Campaign could not have made them any more explicit. We even had thenpresident Obama putting in his tuppence worth as well as the millions of booklets sent to every household in the country. What Blair would never mention is that he promised in his 1983 election address that “we’ll negotiate a withdrawal from the EEC which has drained our natural resources and destroyed jobs”.
It is noteworthy that much of Blair’s time in office was spent squabbling with the EU in disputes over CAP, European taxation, the British beef export ban, the UK rebate, the running of the European Central Bank, the euro and Iraq to name but a few. Tony Blair is probably the most duplicitous politician of my lifetime. He would, as the old Scots saying goes, “sell his granny for a shilling” – or should I say a euro?
M BLACK Renfrewshire, Scotland I am surprised that Brian Monteith’s one-sided view of the history of the Blair administration should give him grounds for claiming that Blair’s views are all foolish (Perspective, 20 February). His view that Labour’s promotion of Devolution underlies our present predicament is wrong. Devolution has not created our present constitutional quagmire. It is the Tories’ promotion of small majority referendums which has been a retrograde constitutional step. Imagine that a referendum for Scottish Inde- pendence was won by 51 per cent to 49 per cent on a low voter turnout.
Referenda also reduces the status that democracy intended to give MPS. MPS are supposed to be delegates who represent the public will, but are free to make considered decisions based on a thorough understanding of their briefs. Right now referenda mania had swept the country and MPS are forced into making decisions against their better judgment. History shows us how badly constructed democratic systems make the route to dictatorship easy. In Weimar Germany the power of press barons helped create a sea of discontent towards liberal parties. Hitler exploited that discontent.
ANDREW VASS Corbiehill Place, Edinburgh I find it incredulous, the double standards of some of the more liberal sections of the media, with their views on Donald Trump being fanatical and out of control, in the same week those sections of the media hailed Tony Blair a conquering hero when he called for a rising up against the biggest democratic decision in the history of our country– to leave the EU. It would appear that it is perfectly acceptable to be critical if your desire is to destroy Brexit and are from a privately educated articulate middle class background; however, it is seen as horrendous if you are a loudly spoken American wishing to challenge the status quo. Something gone wrong here. GORDON KENNEDY Simpson Square, Perth Although a one-time admirer of Tony Blair now, when he appears on TV, I find myself ducking down behind the sofa – the right place to be during his recent pronouncements on Brexit. However, it has to be said that his comments on the issue of independence have been universally misquoted. He did not say that the case for independence is now stronger. Indeed, he went on in his speech to underline that the case is now considerably weaker. What he actually said was that “the context makes it more credible”. That is a significantly different assessment. The SNP case for independence is now founded on little else than a non-stop agenda of perceived grievance.
COLIN HAMILTON Braid Hills Avenue, Edinburgh