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Tony Blair
90 quotes
“I am a Socialist not through reading a textbook that has caught my intellectual fancy, nor through unthinking tradition, but because I believe that, at its best, Socialism corresponds most closely to an existence that is both rational and moral. It stands for co-operation, not confrontation; for fellowship, not fear. It stands for equality, not because it wants people to be the same but because only through equality in our economic circumstances can our individuality develop properly.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1983 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Maiden speech as MP for Sedgefield (6 July 1983).
“We should be tough on crime and tough on the underlying causes of crime.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From the archive: Tony Blair is tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" New Statesman (29 January 1993, reprinted 7 January 2016)
“The importance of the notion of community is that it defines the relationship not only between us as individuals but between people and the society in which they live, one that is based on responsibilities as well as rights, on obligations as well as entitlements. Self-respect is in part derived from respect for others.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in Wellingborough after the murder of James Bulger (19 February 1993), quoted in John Rentoul, Tony Blair: Prime Minister (2001; 2002), p. 200
“It is largely from family discipline that social discipline and a sense of responsibility is learnt. A modern notion of society – where rights and responsibilities go together – requires responsibility to be nurtured. Out of a family grows the sense of community. The family is the starting place... All other things being equal, it is easier to do the difficult job of bringing up a child where there are two parents living happily together... If the old left tended to ignore the importance of the family, the new right ignores the conditions in which family life can most easily prosper.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in Alloa (25 June 1993), quoted in John Rentoul, Tony Blair: Prime Minister (2001; 2002), p. 201
“I shall not rest until, once again, the destinies of our people and our party are joined together again in victory at the next general election Labour in its rightful place in government again.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Philip Webster, "Blair sets sights on Downing Street", The Times (22 July 1994).
“The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Mail on Sunday (2 October 1994).
“Any parent wants the best for their children. I am not going to make a choice for my child on the basis of what is the politically correct thing to do.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mr Blair opts out", The Guardian (2 December 1994). Statement (1 December 1994) defending his decision to send his eldest son Euan to the London Oratory School which had opted out of local education authority control un…
“We have no plans to increase tax at all.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Philip Bassett, "Blair pledges he will not raise tax", The Times, 21 September 1995, p. 1.
“I didn't come into politics to change the Labour Party. I came into politics to change the country.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Michael White, "Blair wants 'to make UK young again'", The Guardian (4 October 1995).
“I want to see a publicly-owned railway, publicly accountable.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Paul Routledge, "Why the unions aren't rocking Blair's boat", The Independent on Sunday (8 October 1995).
“The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth, and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Socialism is So Hot Right Now" (17 September 2018), by Jonah Goldberg, Commentary
“I can't stand politicians who wear God on their sleeves.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sunday Telegraph (7 April 1996).
“Ask me my three main priorities for government, and I tell you: education, education and education. We are 35th in the world league of education standards – 35th. At every level, radical improvement and reform.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to party conference (October 1996)
“If there are further steps to European integration, the people should have their say at a general election or in a referendum.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the end there is no escaping from the fact that businesses run business. And the best thing government can do is set a framework within which business has the stability to plan and invest in the future [...] I want a situation more like the Democrats and the Republicans in the US. People don't even question for a single moment that the Democrats are pro-business party. They should not be asking the question about the New Labour [...] New Labour is pro-business, pro-enterprise, and we believe there is nothing inconsistent between that and a decent and just society.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (16 January 1997). Quoted in
“Isn't it extraordinary that the Prime Minister of our country can't even urge his Party to back his own position. Weak! Weak! Weak!”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prime Ministers Questions (30 January 1997).
“Powers that are constitutionally there can be used but the Scottish Labour Party is not planning to raise income tax and once the power is given it is like any parish council: it's got the right to exercise it.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Scotsman (4 April 1997).
“Sovereignty rests with me as an English MP and that's the way it will stay.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A new dawn has broken, has it not?”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Victory speech at Labour election-night party, Royal Festival Hall, London (2 May 1997).
“My message to Sinn Fein is clear. The settlement train is leaving. I want you on that train. But it is leaving anyway and I will not allow it to wait for you.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: David McKittrick, "Blair offers a fresh start for Irish peace", The Independent, 17 May 1997, p. 1.
“I was born in 1953, a child of the Cold War era, raised amid the constant fear of a conflict with the potential to destroy humanity. Whatever other dangers may exist, no such fear exists today. Mine is the first generation able to contemplate the possibility that we may live our entire lives without going to war or sending our children to war. That is a prize beyond value.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Martin Bentham, "You're the boss, Tony", The Sun (28 May 1997), p. 2.
“She was the people's princess and that is how she will stay, how she will remain in our hearts and our memories for ever.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Frank Millar, "Shocked Britain mourns loss of Princess Diana in Paris car crash", Irish Times, 1 September 1997, p. 1.
“I would never do anything to harm the country or anything improper. I think most people who have dealt with me think I'm a pretty straight sort of guy, and I am.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trevor Kavanagh, "Blair: My big blunder", The Sun, 17 November 1997, p. 8.
“A day like today is not a day for, sort of, soundbites, really - we can leave those at home - but I feel the hand of history upon our shoulders, I really do.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Julia Langdon, "The gloves are off in the Speaker's corner", Herald (Glasgow), 9 April 1998, p. 21.
“We do, as a new Government, have to be extremely careful after 18 years in opposition. A lot of people who worked for us, they then go on and work for the lobby firms. I think we have to be very careful with people fluttering around the new Government, trying to make all sorts of claims of influence, that we are purer than pure, that people understand that we will not have any truck with anything that is improper in any shape or form at all.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: David Hughes, "'Don't flutter around us' Blair warns lobbyists", Daily Mail (8 July 1998), p. 2.
“A New Britain where the extraordinary talent of the British people is liberated from the forces of conservatism that so long have held them back, to create a model 21st century nation, based not on privilege, class or background, but on the equal worth of all.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Labour Party conference (28 September 1999).
“I can stand here today, leader of the Labour Party, Prime Minister, and say to the British people: you have never had it so … prudent.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Labour Party conference (28 September 1999), paraphrasing Harold Macmillan's statement "most of our people have never had it so good" and comparing with Gordon Brown's frequent use of the word "prudent".
“We have done all that, but lots of people like you say because it's not perfect, you've done nothing and therefore I'm walking away from it – it's pathetic. And as for this rubbish that we took the whole of the social services budget and blew it on Kosovo – first of all, the figures are nonsense; secondly, I want to tell you this about Kosovo. I think the day that this movement, with its values, when we could do something about it, would walk away from the worst case of ethnic cleansing and racial genocide since the second world war, then we'd have something to be ashamed of.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Answer at a Labour Party question-and-answer meeting (January 2000), quoted in Michael Cockerell, 'The secret world of Tony Blair', New Statesman (14 February 2000)
“For the moment, let me say this: Saddam Hussein's regime is despicable, he is developing weapons of mass destruction, and we cannot leave him doing so unchecked. He is a threat to his own people and to the region and, if allowed to develop these weapons, a threat to us also.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: House of Commons statement on discussions with President Bush over the Middle East (10 April 2002).
“I don't like it, to be honest, when politicians make a big thing of their religious beliefs, so I don't make a big thing of it.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Jeremy Paxman (16 May 2002).
“Look, I'm a person, an individual with a character and part of my character is about what I believe in and part of my beliefs obviously is a religious conviction. I simply hesitate whenever I get drawn into this territory because I have found, over time, that it either leads to people misunderstanding the basis upon which you are taking decisions or it leads to people trying to colonise God or religion for one particular political position. I make no claims to that at all.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Jeremy Paxman (16 May 2002).
“[The Joint Intelligence Committee] concludes that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons, that Saddam has continued to produce them, that he has existing and active military plans for the use of chemical and biological weapons, which could be activated within 45 minutes, including against his own Shia population, and that he is actively trying to acquire nuclear weapons capability.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: House of Commons statement on publication of the dossier concerning Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction (24 September 2002).
“Sometimes, and in particular dealing with a dictator, the only chance of peace is a readiness for war.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Labour conference in Blackpool (2 October 2002). Echoing an old latin proverb, Si vis pacem, para bellum (If you want peace, be prepared for war).
“Lead me into war...you know I believe in you.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Meeting with George W. Bush on January 31, 2003.
“The intelligence is clear: [Saddam Hussein] continues to believe that his weapons of mass destruction programme is essential both for internal repression and for external aggression. It is essential to his regional power. Prior to the inspectors coming back in, he was engaged in a systematic exercise in concealment of those weapons.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: House of Commons statement on Iraq (25 February 2003).
“I've never claimed to have a monopoly of wisdom, but one thing I've learned in this job is you should always try to do the right thing, not the easy thing. Let the day-to-day judgments come and go: be prepared to be judged by history.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jackie Ashley in Madrid, and Ewen MacAskill, "'History will be my judge': Tony Blair, in an exclusive interview, says demos and rebels will not deflect him over Iraq" The Guardian (28 February 2003).
“If we don't act now, we can't keep those people down there forever. We can't wait forever. If we don't act now, then we will go back to what has happened before and then of course the whole thing begins again and he carries on developing these weapons and these are dangerous weapons, particularly if they fall into the hands of terrorists who we know want to use these weapons if they can get them.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Appearing in "MTV Forum - Is War the Answer?", recorded on 6 March 2003, transmitted on 11 March 2003.
“We are asked now seriously to accept that in the last few years–contrary to all history, contrary to all intelligence–Saddam decided unilaterally to destroy those weapons. I say that such a claim is palpably absurd.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: House of Commons debate on Iraq (18 March 2003).
“This is the time not just for this Government–or, indeed, for this Prime Minister—but for this House to give a lead: to show that we will stand up for what we know to be right; to show that we will confront the tyrannies and dictatorships and terrorists who put our way of life at risk; to show, at the moment of decision, that we have the courage to do the right thing.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Conclusion of speech in the House of Commons debate on Iraq (18 March 2003).
“Before people crow about the absence of Weapons of Mass Destruction, I suggest they wait a bit.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prime Minister's monthly press conference, April 2003, Prime Minister's website (28 April 2003).
“As I have said throughout, I have no doubt that they will find the clearest possible evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Replying to questions following statement on the G8 summit, House of Commons (4 June 2003).
“What amazes me is how many people are happy for Saddam to stay. They ask why we don't get rid of Mugabe, why not the Burmese lot. Yes, let's get rid of them all. I don't because I can't, but when you can you should.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Michael Ignatieff, "Why Are We In Iraq? (And Liberia? And Afghanistan?)", The New York Times (5 September 2003).
“We've already discovered, just so far, the remains of 400,000 people in mass graves.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Peter Beaumont, "PM admits graves claim 'untrue'", The Observer, 18 July, 2004.
“I thought that it was the most predictable speech that we could have heard from the right hon. and learned Gentleman. He may want to pose as the nice Dr. Jekyll, but we know that, deep down, he is still the same old Mr. Howard.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Debate on the Queen's Speech (26 November 2003).
“What you can't do is have a situation where you get a rejection of the treaty and then you just bring it back with a few amendments and say we will have another go. You can't do that and I am not going to get drawn into speculating the way forward because I don't intend to lose the referendum.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prime Minister's monthly press conference (22 April 2004).
“Today's strategy is the culmination of a journey of change both for progressive politics and for the country. It marks the end of the 1960s liberal, social consensus on law and order.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Here, now, today, people have had enough of this part of the 1960s consensus. People do not want a return to old prejudices and ugly discrimination. But they do want rules, order and proper behaviour. They know there is such a thing as society. They want a society of respect. They want a society of responsibility. They want a community where the decent law-abiding majority are in charge; where those that play by the rules do well; and those that don't, get punished.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech (19 July 2004), quoted in 'Tony Blair – 2004 Speech on Law and Order', UKPOL (12 September 2015)
“Do I know I'm right? Judgements aren't the same as facts. Instinct is not science. I'm like any other human being, as fallible and as capable of being wrong. I only know what I believe.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Labour Party Conference (28 September 2004), referring to the fact that no WMDs had been found in Iraq.
“Don't say yes to that question, that would be difficult.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: At a joint press conference with George W. Bush (13 November 2004). Blair interrupted when a reporter asked Bush if he sees Blair as his poodle.
“It is not a sensible or intelligent response for us in Europe to ridicule American argument or parody their political leadership.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at the Lord Mayor's Banquet (15 November 2004).