Blair has been as influential in his way as Thatcher was previously...taking the Labour party from left-wing into the centre ground while managing to move the economy away from a short-cycle boom-bust is his major legacy.

It's no surprise that the stalwarts in Labour hate him as much as the conservatives whose electoral clothes he has stolen.

My problem with him can be summed up to a flawed strategic vision - I think (charitably) that he has been trying to use British influence to moderate American behavior without realising exactly how intellectually bankrupt the current US administration is...they have fought a war on the cheap to topple the Iraqi dictatorship without appreciating the effort required to prevent the succession turning into a maelstrorm.

The real long-term worry for the UK is the effect that home grown suicide bombers have on relations between cultures within the country. It is obvious that Al-Quieda's game plan is all about stirring up an anti-Muslim backlash to foster support for itself within the worldwide Muslim community.

We need to do a better job on preventing this than we've done with Northern Ireland,

-- Andrew