SIR Tony Blair ?

Excuse me for saying this Urmstongran but... you voted for Blair and then decided he was a bad idea. You voted for Boris and then decided he was a bad idea.

Is there anyone who you've actually stuck by?

Grany
Some of them probaby knew they didn't deserve one anyway!

As don't many who receive them

Possibly her maj is making sure she rewards everyone she wants to before she departs. Rewarding a war criminal is one step too far though. So sad that such a bright start ended in such disaster.

He can't claim the good Friday agreement that's Mo Molem's

Grany

Some who refused honours

Vanessa Redgrave, devout socialist, but she has accepted one this time round.

Shelagh6

A man advised by others, very weak to disagree - I just hope the wretch that is Alistair Campbell is never awarded anything! The two of them and George Bush (who he thought he had to cosy-up to were very much to blame too for the Iraq war. I advise everyone to get a dvd copy of “The Killings of Tony Blair” to look at what happened. I think TB has looked wretched ever since - he knows how wrong it all was. His legacy could have been terrific.

Well put Shelagh6 ?
I voted for him, first time around. ‼️ I was SO genuinely delighted. Punched the air ?... I got to shake his hand. Twice.
Felt deflated - then later, embarrassed to be honest..

Allsorts

I cannot believe this. There surely is no justice in the system. Go to the National Arboretum, see all the names of those youngsters killed in Iraq, on their monument, without crying at the waste.

Thank you for reminding us Allsorts of the ramifications of his decisions.
Quite poignant.
?

Grannyme6

I couldn’t agree with you more Urms.

Thank you Grannyme6 for your vote of confidence.
I like to think that many more of us agree. Some are ‘lurkers’.
Maybe I’m delusional!
?

Was surprised at the announcement of Tony Blair honoured. I immediately thought of the parents of those who lost sons and daughters in Iraq. Blair honoured and young servicemen and women killed for nothing. I really feel for them and if Blair had any conscience he would have refused it.

The Queen and her only, makes the choice of who is awarded Knight of the Garter . Other awards are nominated by her Government, then signed off by her.
I really can’t understand why she has chosen this man to receive it.
www.royal.uk/order-garter

Some who refused honours

Just come on to this thread. Blair’s immigration was to rub the Tory’s noses in it and get more Labour votes whilst being disingenuous with working class voters according to a book I have just been perusing. Remember the lady who questioned Gordon Brown and he had his mike switched on and accused his aides of putting him on the spot with a bigot, all because she wanted to talk about immigration.

The book is called “The Diversity Illusion - What we got wrong about Immigration” by Ed West. It came into my in box from Amazon earlier this afternoon and I read the ‘Look Inside’ first few chapters. Very interesting. Gave me a different insight.

I've just seen your last post. Casdon. That's my 'new thing' learnt for today. Very interesting.

Casdon

It might be the opposite to your guess Oldnproud. As it’s the Queen’s decision she may be giving Boris a very broad hint that she is unhappy with his behaviour or policies and rewarding somebody whose were very different. As I said earlier on this thread, I really think history will judge Boris much more harshly than it will Blair.

Does the Queen actually have a say in it? I thought ministers presented her with a list of nominees and she simply rubber-stamped it.

I definitely prefer your theory to mine, though.

You’d be wrong there Grany. It was an Order of the Garter appointment, nobody nominates for that, it’s the Queen’s personal decision.

Christ the left of the party needs better scriptwriters. The jokes are dire.

I think it was Starmer nominated him.

I couldn’t agree with you more Urms.

It might be the opposite to your guess Oldnproud. As it’s the Queen’s decision she may be giving Boris a very broad hint that she is unhappy with his behaviour or policies and rewarding somebody whose were very different. As I said earlier on this thread, I really think history will judge Boris much more harshly than it will Blair.

I don’t think this is down to Boris. Sorry. More to it than that.

Forsythia

After 14 years of it being withheld, why now is the question everybody should be asking. What’s in it for those involved. Perhaps he has remembered a forgotten visit to Pizza Express in Woking………

"Why now?" you ask.
My first thought when I heard the news was that Boris is behind it - he wants to ensure that he gets a knighthood himself once he is no longer Prime Minister, so is keen to remove any 'obstacles' that might stand in the way of that.
Blair's lack of a knighthood was potentially one such obstacle, but the bar has now been lowered again.

I cannot believe this. There surely is no justice in the system. Go to the National Arboretum, see all the names of those youngsters killed in Iraq, on their monument, without crying at the waste.

Forsythia

They didn’t receive one because Blair hadn’t had his. They couldn’t receive theirs until he did.

Yes - I read that today- How nonsensical is that? We could have had a great PM subsequently who had to miss out . ( Not that I agree with honours)?Sunday Times also surmised that it was a long time coming cos he upset Queenie over Diana’s funeral.

A man advised by others, very weak to disagree - I just hope the wretch that is Alistair Campbell is never awarded anything! The two of them and George Bush (who he thought he had to cosy-up to were very much to blame too for the Iraq war. I advise everyone to get a dvd copy of “The Killings of Tony Blair” to look at what happened. I think TB has looked wretched ever since - he knows how wrong it all was. His legacy could have been terrific.

MayBee70

CoolCoco

Didn't Thatcher give herself an hereditary peerage ? She wrecked British manufacturing and ruined social housing for a generation.

She made a fortune helping to sell cigarettes to third world countries. I ‘m not aware of Tony Blair doing anything as insidious as that since he left office. And he didn’t create a war to save his political career like some have. He made one mistake and that mistake was enormous but I had never thought I would see an end to the troubles: he was also instrumental in bringing about peace to Yugoslavia. Saddam Hussein was slaughtering his own people: he was a tyrannical leader who needed taking out; the problem being it was badly thought through. Blair didn’t single handedly start the war with Iraq and it was voted through by parliament. Both he and Gordon Brown have spoken more sense regarding the pandemic than anyone in the current government has. If the Union is falling apart that’s down to the EU referendum, not devolution because, prior to that Scotland voted to remain in the union. Or is my memory failing me again?

Good post. Reasoned.

More harm can be done to children not allowed to attend a parent’s funeral. Diana’s boys did what many grief stricken children have had to endure. Forget about what adults decide, listening to the children’s decisions is what is important.

It wasn't the attending of the funeral, Kalu, it was quite right that they should have been there.

It was the forcing them out of their sanctuary at Balmoral and forcing them to walk amongst the public, shaking hands, inspecting flowers and having to speak to members of the public that was wrong.
They were just children