Ask yourself this. Tony Blair led Labour to three election victories. Which of these policies were in his manifesto? :-
Capital punishment
Unlimited detention of suspects without trial or judicial process
Circumvention of international law
Regardless of whether you agree with these policies or not, they were all introduced under Tony Blair. You see under the British mandate in Iraq all of these things have happened. Whatever you think of the invasion, whatever you think of Tony Blair, all of these things have happened in Iraq. We were part of the coalition which deposed Saddam Hussein, we wrote the new rulebook and constitution. We did the same thing in Germany at the end of WWII. Even this week, Chemical Ali was hung. We put together the new Iraqi constitution. We are responsible. You may think he deserved it. That isn't the argument. The point is that we deposed a government, imposed a new one and allowed things to happen there, which we banned long ago in this country.
The problem with Tony Blair is that he didn't think "the law" applied to him and his little adventures. He totally believes he was right, so the law didn't matter. Having read the comments by the Leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan, with regards to national law applying to local authorities, sadly it seems she's afflicted with the same syndrome. She's lobbying to make an incoming Conservative Government let Council Leaders make up their own laws.
It seems to me that the most dangerous disease on the planet is "Leaderitis". This is where you decide that because you are leader, you know best. The unfortunate symptoms range from invading Iraq, to scrapping sheltered housing wardens. The most unfortunate effect is that people suffer. Other people.
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