Richard D. North, 2006
ISBN 1 904863 10 8
£11.99

Mr Blair’s Messiah Politics: Or what happened when Bambi tried to save the world shows how a personal sense of mission led Tony Blair to concentrate power in his own hands as he re-imagined Britain from top to bottom – before going on to save the world.

In seeking to fight third-world poverty, tackle climate change and topple tyrannies, Blair has framed goals that truly merit the term ‘messianic’.

Blair’s Messiah Politics mixed idealism with ballot-box cunning. Bemused and outwitted, the media became a tool of the PM. New Labour’s careerist party ceded power to the great vote-winner. The electorate was charmed by his disingenuous earnestness. The institutions of state became subservient to the whims of Number 10.

Along the way, we have seen an actor-manager play the ardent campaigner, the world-weary statesman, the Therapist-in-Chief. Manager, missionary, military leader: these roles have all suited Tony Blair.

This book shows us how to avoid a future Tony Blair: the public needs to be sceptical of personal power; MPs need to reassert their authority; Civil Servants need to rediscover their allegiance to the Crown. By these simple measures, we can guard against Messiah Politics, whether Blair’s or anyone else’s.