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I have never pretended to be a great House of Commons man, but I pay the House the greatest compliment I can by saying that, from first to last, I never stopped fearing it.

Tony Blair

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Tony Blair
Age: 71
Born: 1953
Born: May 6
Autobiographer
Diplomat
Former Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom
Lawyer
Politician
Edinburgh
Scotland
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair
Anthony Blair
Rt. Hon. Anthony Charles Lynton Blair
Men
Greatest
Lasts
Commons
Last
Pretended
House
Fearing
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Compliment
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Stopped
Great
Pay
Never
Saying

More quotes by Tony Blair

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There's a great frustration with the system. There's a lot of anger out there. But in the end, you need answers and not just anger. But anyway, let me not trespass too much into your politics. I've got enough problems in my own politics.
Tony Blair
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What we want to see is the development of human rights and greater democracy, not just because it is our system but because we think that's the best way that economic and political development go hand in hand.
Tony Blair
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The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.
Tony Blair
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I had discovered long ago the first lesson of political courage: to think anew. I had then learned the second: to be prepared to lead and to decide. I was now studying the third: how to take the calculated risk. I was going to alienate some people, like it or not. The moment you decide, you divide.
Tony Blair
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Moreover, for decades we have been prone to far greater swings in the economic cycle than our continental counterparts. It has been boom and bust....Under this Government, there is an entirely new framework for economic management in place.
Tony Blair
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Retreat might give us a moment of respite but years of repentance at our weakness would, I believe, follow.
Tony Blair
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Of particular importance to us is the recognition... that what we want is a Europe of nations, not a federal super-state.
Tony Blair
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There is no doubt that the time to act is now. It is now that timely action can avert disaster. It is now that with foresight and will such action can be taken without disturbing the essence of our way of life, by adjusting behaviour not altering it entirely.
Tony Blair
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I think the journey for a politician goes from wanting to please all the people all the time, to a political leader that realises in the end his responsibility is to decide. And when he decides, he divides.
Tony Blair
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I'm one of these people that, once you have had your election and you have elected your candidate, let's see what actually happens.
Tony Blair
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Times are tough but they are tough because the government is trying to do the right thing, whether on public service reform, education, health, anti-social behaviour and welfare, or in counter-terrorism.
Tony Blair
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Anywhere, anytime ordinary people are given the chance to choose, the choice is the same: freedom, not tyranny democracy, not dictatorship the rule of law, not the rule of the secret police.
Tony Blair
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When Europe and America stand together the world is a better and more prosperous place.
Tony Blair
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My view is that we're entering into a situation of enormous instability, insecurity, fragility.
Tony Blair
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If you are trying to take a difficult decision and you're weighing up the pros and cons, you have frank conversations. Everybody knows this in their walk of life.
Tony Blair
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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
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In Downing Street they called me 'Boss'. Civil servants would always call me 'Prime Minister'.
Tony Blair
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I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the intelligence was genuine.
Tony Blair
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You know, the media and politicians are always gonna be in a bit of tension with one another and probably most of the time that's healthy and indeed even creative. But it's where - it's really when news organisations are used as kind of instruments of politics that it gets tricky.
Tony Blair
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For me, 9/11 was a game changer. It altered my perception of the security threat we faced. I took the position that Britain should be shoulder to shoulder with the U.S. It was a big decision I didn't take it lightly, or in ignorance of its consequences. It's a big commitment for a country to give, but I believed it was the right thing to do.
Tony Blair