THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

The little post below was just to see if I had got the hang of adding pictures to articles and it looks as if I have. We enter a new era then at Rise Like Lions. Prepare to be inundated with mugshots, action sequences etc.

Going back to the Independent’s Labour freebie, after ten years of Blair it serves as a good reminder of the fools and sycophants which he has surrounded himself with at various times of his tenure. Like Robin Hood, Blair went along his merry little way picking up fools, village idiots and the afflicted. Here are some names to jog your memories:

TREVOR BEATTIE
A self confessed socialist, but who managed to somehow forget his principals when Blair give him a £10m contract to coordinate Labour’s 2001 election campaign. “Working for a Labour government…is my vocation in life”. Of course it is Trevor, and with £10m of Labour Party member’s money in your back pocket, you need never work again!

CHARLIE WHELAN
Who can forget Charlie? A public school communist (what on earth does that mean?) Whelan had to take a dive when he was caught leaking information about Peter Mandelson (more about him later)

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL
Campbell perhaps sums up all that is wrong with Blair’s tenure at the top. Unelected, unaccountable and unstoppable, Alastair managed to leave dirty finger marks on almost everything from Iraq (the dodgy dossier) to the resignation of Greg Dyke at the BBC (sexed up approach to the document). Spin began with Campbell, and whilst it still continues today, nobody did it with such ruthless opportunism as he did.

JO MOORE
Her infamy derives from the “now is a very good time to get out anything we want to bury” email which she sent out on 11th September 2001. Despite a good wrist slapping for her insensitivity, she tried it again on the day of Princess Margaret’s funeral. Even this was too much for Tony and Co, and Jo was suitably ushered of the scene. Her only contribution to political history will be the cultural phrase “a good day to bury bad news”. Shame on you Jo.

PHILIP GOULD
I have included Philip in this list not because he has been embroiled in scandal or took bungs, but because he introduced Tony to “focus groups”. FG’s as those in the political know now call them (how inventive) dominate the direction of Blair’s policy mandarins. Not a pen or paper clip can be purchased or NHS policy approved without them first going to a “FG”. Thanks Philip, thanks a lot!

DEREK DRAPER
Not enough attention has been paid to Drapper re the “cash for honours” scandal. Drapper, who was unable to keep his mouth closed, bragged that he had access to government as he was a “Tony crony” and for a fee could get what you wanted. “Dapper Drapper” is now employed as a psychotherapist. Well would you believe it!

And finally

PETER MANDELSON
The King of Spin and founder of New Labour. Made of Teflon, Peter has been embroiled in scandal his entire governmental life. His undisclosed loan from Geoffrey Robinson and his meddling in the passport application for one of the Hinduja brothers give Peter the unenviable title of being one of the very few ministers who has been forced to resign/sacked from the cabinet twice for being naughty! Well known for not being one of Gordon’s most favourite people, perhaps Mr Brown has already made out Peter’s EU P45.

So there you have it, a sorry bunch for a sorry ten years. Democracy has been eroded under Blair’s tutelage, and to be honest, I can’t see things changing under the new incumbent.