When Tony Blair became Labour party leader in 1994 aged 41 after the death of John Smith he became the youthful leader of a party still bruised by having lost four election. Despite this, many viewed him as the next prime minister.

Three years later, Labour came to power, following the landslide victory of 1997. As veteran journalist Steve Richards writes, ‘the Blair government secured peace in Northern Ireland, introduced a minimum wage, introduced Sure Start, improved the NHS, transformed cities in the UK, began the long task of abolishing child poverty, established civil partnerships and imposed a smoking ban. Devolution was implemented fairly smoothly. Free entry to museums and art galleries was reintroduced. The list could go on….’

But how enduring was that legacy? How long was the shadow cast by the Iraq war? What’s the truth about the Blair/Brown rivalry and could it have been managed better? And who is the real Tony Blair – a visionary, looking ahead or a leader trapped by his past, Labour’s vote-losing 1980s and the dominance of Margaret Thatcher? What lessons can today’s government learn from the Blair years?

Steve Richards

Steve Richards is a political columnist, journalist, author and presenter. He presents the podcast Rock N Roll Politics and regularly presents The Week in Westminster on BBC Radio 4 as well as BBC series on Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn. He is the author of The Prime Ministers, Turning Points and The Prime Ministers We Never Had, the latter of which was named a ʻBook of the Year’ in The Guardian and The Times. He writes for several national newspapers including The Guardian, the Independent and the Financial Times. He also presents a popular political one-man show each year at the Edinburgh Festival and across the UK.

The structure of this event is as follows:

Talk, book signing, audience QnA.