From humble petition to militant action

If for no other reason than some people still care about what they see as injustice, I suppose I should welcome the fact that some 500,000 people cared enough about the Queen offering former PM Tony Blair an honour to sign a petition to block it. Fat lot of good it will do them, given that some six million people signed a petition urging for the government to hold a second referendum on Brexit. But at least they felt some form of injustice was at work. How else can you complain about a man who did so much harm? Record investment in the NHS, waiting lists almost eliminated, the minimum wage, Sure Start, massive cuts to poverty. But wait. Iraq. That’s what the petition is all about.

Hopefully, the half a million will also see some other injustices in the country? Millions in poverty, perhaps, with children going without food? The friends of Boris Johnson being handed billions of pounds of government money, including £37 BILLION on the failed track and trace system? Children’s education being wrecked by constant school closures?  Yes, yes – but Iraq?

Sir Tony knows he will have to live with this constant onslaught on his reputation for the rest of his days, all the good he did overridden by an ill-fated war in Iraq, where he sincerely believed he was doing THE RIGHT THING. The forces of the hard right, like Tommy Robinson, and the Corbynista left joined together at the hip, singing from the same song sheet about how much they hate him. Isn’t it possible that being hated by both the hard right and hard left suggests that Blair got some things spot on?

Sarcasm aside, I do believe people care about injustices other than honours conferred on people. They do care about inequality, unfairness, crime, lying politicians and all the rest of it and maybe, just maybe, signing this petition will encourage them to consider things other than having a pop at a former PM?

What Blair may have got wrong over Iraq does not mean he lied; he didn’t. He was given inaccurate advice, for sure, but he did not lie. Boris Johnson lies every time he opens his mouth. It’s what he does. I’m not asking for people to waste their time doing petitions for sacking Johnson for being a liar but I would suggest that if they still love the ‘Boris’ character, it would have been an act of supreme hypocrisy to then sign a petition against Tony Blair.

My old trade union, CPSA, had a book written about it, From humble petition to militant action. If the half million anti-Blair petitioners become politically activated, maybe something very good will come out of this nonsense. I hope so.