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“... however; not even in the way that Lawrence Castle, the Prime Minister in the novel, ‘is’ Tony Blair, and President Riley ‘is’ Bill Clinton (the novel’s set in 1999). In Lawson’s imaginings, the President’s priapism extends far beyond Monicagate: Riley has been accused of sexually assaulting the wife of the President of Nigeria. The ...”

“... background, could make an excellent Cordelia. Sven-Göran Eriksson should direct; and if Tony Blair is too busy to play the Fool, perhaps Martin Amis, who has been tentatively sticking up for the Royals in the New Yorker, might oblige. And – who knows? – maybe the Prince of Wales will even be tempted to look into manufacturing and marketing ...”

“... meltdown; 62 pages later, the world is once again safe for democracy. It makes you wonder whether Tony Blair isn’t an old Tintin fan, still harbouring fantasies of emulating the plucky young Belgian and implementing the 62-page solution wherever it’s required (though his recent visit to Libya – undermining his ‘Saddam was a bad ...”

“... UK to a policy of regime change. In April 2002, at a meeting at George W. Bush’s ranch in Texas, Tony Blair ‘sought a partnership’ with Bush and argued for ‘an ultimatum calling on Iraq to permit the return of weapon inspectors or face the consequences’. In July Blair told the president: ‘I will be with ...”

“... than 80 per cent of Americans supported ratification of the treaty, and key allies – including Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schröder – urged the Senate to do likewise. Nevertheless, in October 1999, the Senate rejected it, in large part because Helms had arranged for the vote to be taken when Clinton’s influence was at its ...”

“... Germans, but liberty as the right to be cussedly, bloody-mindedly oneself. ‘John is John,’ as Tony Blair wryly murmured of John Prescott when he punched a demonstrator, suggests something of this tautological quality. This brand of liberty is not in principle opposed to authority, not least because without its minatory presence it would have nothing ...”

“... have been successful. Although he at first seemed to align himself with the broad left, voting for Tony Benn in the extremely close Benn-Healey deputy leadership contest of 1981, for example, he seems to have taken a New Labour position almost before such a thing existed. As shadow education minister in the late 1980s he was not, by his own account, an ...”

“... Pictures’ concludes with two portraits of flawed Labour leaders, Hugh Gaitksell and Tony Blair, separated by four decades. When Gaitskell led Labour in the early 1960s, he defied its rank and file with a Cold War policy of nuclear deterrence. Hamilton, who was committed to the anti-nuclear movement, made his Portrait of Hugh Gaitskell as a ...”

“... East, were furious at what they saw as the gesture politics of Bill Clinton and his adjutant Tony Blair. Most Saudis despise Saddam Hussein, but this does not automatically translate – as many in Washington seem to believe – into an uncritical pro-Americanism. On the contrary, Saudi Arabia, characterised by deep-rooted Islamic conservatism, is ...”

“... taken seriously? The answer was given by Sir Richard Dearlove, then head of MI6, in his note to Tony Blair which was leaked to the Sunday Times. Dearlove reported in July 2002 that ‘Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the ...”

“... Wilson, Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, and the triumvirate of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Tony Blair (an honorary American in this context). Wilson promoted the idea of the United States as the country whose mission was to make the world safe for democracy. Truman launched the national security state with mobilisation in peacetime. Two terms of ...”

“... a drop in public spending. Veltroni, until very recently the mayor of Rome, openly acknowledges Tony Blair as a role model, though unlike Berlusconi he’s never invited him on holiday.Berlusconi, meanwhile, says he’ll cut taxes and red-tape and spend the money on such (vanity) projects as building a bridge to Sicily and clinging onto Alitalia, which ...”

“... this is what Farage means when he says he’s worried by Kilroy-Silk’s ‘left-wing’ agenda. Tony Blair should be delighted. If Kilroy-Silk is serious about getting his hands on some real political power (perish the thought that he might be in the game only because he can’t bear not to be on TV), perhaps he should make a few clandestine approaches ...”

“... were elected with more than 50 per cent of the votes cast in their constituencies, 44 (including Tony Blair and John Prescott) were elected with over 70 per cent, and two with over 80 per cent. By contrast, only 14 Conservatives won more than 50 per cent of the votes cast. The most successful Conservative, John Major in Huntingdon, received 55.3 per ...”

“... used to, is that it is, in crucial respects, not the party it used to be. In that sense at least Tony Blair is not just preening himself when he talks about New Labour. The Labour Party of semi-fond memory was a broadish church but it had some consistent currents within it. It was left of centre, socially ...”