By John Pickard
As this is being posted, just shy of a million people have signed the petition to have Tony Blair’s knighthood revoked. The petition will not have any effect on the Queen, but it sure as hell adds a much-deserved note of embarrassment to his so-called ‘honour’.
Blair has been made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, apparently the oldest and most senior British Order of Chivalry. Leaving aside the ludicrous medievalism of the award, it is an utter disgrace that a war criminal should be feted in this way. Blair was responsible for the lies and deceit that were manufactured to ‘justify’ the invasion of Iraq in 2003, with the subsequent deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, leaving the country as the failed state it is today. That is apart from the nearly ten billion pound it cost the British taxpayer (the first six years alone), and the lives of nearly two hundred service personnel.
After his stint as Prime Minister, one of Blair’s most lucrative side-lines was acting as a paid political adviser to a variety of repressive regimes around the world. His company had a contract at one point to advise the former leader of Kazakhstan – a country once again in the news for its repressive policies – advising him on how to present his government in a more positive light, despite having killed dozens of protesting workers. According to a report in the Guardian, Blair’s company is said to have been paid $13m by the then Kazakh leader for his services. Toxic is too tame a word for such mercenary behaviour.
Blair lies and is knighted, Assange reveals lies and is jailed
Blair’s elevation to knighthood, despite having lied to the UK population, stands in stark contrast to the fate of Julian Assange, who has been demonised and incarcerated by the British government for having the temerity to reveal some of the truths about Iraq, including the almost casual murder of Iraqi civilians by US forces. If there were any justice, it would be Blair facing trial and imprisonment and Assange who was feted for having exposed some truths.
The Blair brand is now so toxic that there can only be a few Labour party members who still admire the man. Even among Labour voters, it is doubtful that his name evokes anything other than contempt or outright hatred. Unfortunately, that is not a view shared by the tops of the Labour Party and it says a lot about Keir Starmer, sorry, Sir Keir Starmer, that he has supported Blair being given the honour. Indeed, some of Starmer’s closest advisers would like to model the party leader on a former leader so utterly embedded in the British capitalist establishment.
The whole honours system is rotten and should be abolished. Most ordinary working people are happy to see recognition given to those who genuinely deserve it, but there are very few ordinary nurses, teachers, paramedics, shop-workers, transport or other ‘key’ workers in the list of honours. The press will focus, as always, on popular figures in sport, film, TV and theatre, but the big majority of the honours are given to unknown bosses and higher-ups in industry and politics.
And this is only the New Year’s honours list. There is also the Queen’s birthday honours list and other regular honours in the gift of the Prime Minister of the day. Give a lot of money to the Tory Party and an honour or a seat in the House of Lords is there for the asking.
For services to online gambling
The full New Year’s Honours list can be downloaded from the government website. It has no fewer than 1,277 people listed, some of them for the most dubious of reasons. Hidden among the reasons like ‘for services to cycling’ and ‘for services to the theatre’, we have ‘for services to the online gaming industry’.
I am open to persuasion on the issue by anyone who wants to peruse the list, but at a guess, I’d say the average salary of those honoured last week is probably well over £100k, even allowing for the small number of ordinary men and women. Those honoured are people in the main who are already in the top five per cent of earners, when the real ‘heroes’ are the key workers to toil away week in and week out at a wage barely above the statutory minimum.
The special award given to Blair is not in the list because it is an honour within the gift of the Queen and her Glorious Majesty will not be swayed by any petition from the great unwashed, no matter how large. According to Wikipedia, Blair joins a select company of only around 24 members. Wikipedia explains that while the Queen is known as the Sovereign of the Garter, and Prince Charles is a Royal Knight Companion of the Garter, ordinary male members of the Order are titled “Knights Companion” and female members are called “Ladies Companion”. There are also “ladies of the Garter”, if you’re interested.
In one very narrow sense it is entirely fitting that Blair should get this award. The Order of the Garter was founded sometime in the middle of the fourteenth century and it means absolutely zero to 99 per cent of the population…much like the political ideas that Blair extrudes today.
It is not too late to sign the petition here. It won’t stop him becoming Sir Tony Blair, but anything that adds to his embarrassment is worthwhile.
