Oh, how we rejoiced when Tony Blair came
\nWith his boyish good looks and firm decision
\nTo roll back the years of the Thatcherite shame
\nAs joy overcame the sense of derision.<\/p>\n
We watched and we hoped and we waited to see
\nHow our boy would resolve the problems stacked high;
\nOut with the snouts in the trough and me, me, me,
\nTo establish a fairer society.<\/p>\n
So, where would he start? But he would know,
\nOur knight in bright armour who had us in thrall,
\nHe knew where we wanted to go –
\nWhere all are for one, and one is for all.<\/p>\n
To feelings of comfort in community strong;
\nWould he start in Transport or supporting our Youth?
\nOr peace in the world where we all belong?
\nOr Health, or Greenness and Environment abuse?<\/p>\n
Education, he said, would be tackled first.
\nWe nodded – yes, yes, it had to be said,
\nThat was astute, the best of the worst;
\nStart from the top, work down from the head.<\/p>\n
A short interlude then a jarring note played;
\nSome money – a million from a tobacco cartel;
\nBut soothing words followed; trust me, be not afraid,
\nA subordinate error, money returned, all will be well.<\/p>\n
A danger averted and onwards we go,
\nEven the promise by his deputy clown
\nOf an integrated transport policy show
\nDid not let our trust in him down.<\/p>\n
With the reform of the Lords, an odd deal is struck,
\nA glimmer of doubt as we thought we detected
\nThat time-servers and bagsmen would remain in the muck
\nOf an appointed Chamber, no votes here detected.<\/p>\n
But trust surged back with the Minimum Wage
\nAnd a long overdue Devolution ably dealt
\nTo a celebrity-crazed nation where, what was the rage
\nHad Tony’s sure hand on the pulse deftly felt.<\/p>\n
But could he be just a wee bit soft
\nOn the Press barons toting their wares?
\nAnd Big Business and Banks holding aloft
\nTheir dodgy mis-selling and rising shares?<\/p>\n
We chose not to believe such scurrilous tales
\nAnd we voted him back in a blaze of glory
\nbecause he told us that an initiative fails
\nUnless one can proceed to the end of the story.<\/p>\n
With his magician’s touch he rode rough patches
\nLeading us on where we wished to believe
\nThat the direction was sure and the few bad catches
\nWere soon corrected, we knew our Tony would not deceive.<\/p>\n
Mendelson, Levy, Campbell all did his thinking
\nThose reptillian, blight-twisted men on display
\nThrust in the limelight, warily blinking,
\nShielding, protecting, wiping the filth away.<\/p>\n
With mounting falsehoods reaching a pinnacle
\nWe scarcely believed anymore the news,
\nAnd the lies on Iraq, so blatantly cynical
\nWe knew that the time had come to choose.<\/p>\n
The margin between falsehood and fact was so wide
\nThat we came to live in a political void
\nWith fantasy elbowing reality aside
\nOur trust was lost, scattered, sadly destroyed.<\/p>\n
The shock came as a slap in the face from a loved one
\nOr a refusal by sportsmen to play the game,
\nThe worst part of all that continued to stun
\nWas that he knew that we knew, yet showed no shame.<\/p>\n
The Party believed us; his time was up
\nAnd the mood of the country could not be delayed.
\nWith the devil a long spoon is needed to sup,
\nRevenge for the people and the Party betrayed.<\/p>\n
Oh Tony, Oh Tony, such a jolly good fellow
\nAs all are good fellows, in sunshine and showers,
\nAnd all will remain jolly good fellows
\nUntil they are given too many powers.<\/p>\n
Our liberties , he seized them, but we’ll get them back
\nbecause sunshine always follows the rain,
\nBut who will forgive him over Iraq?
\nWill the mothers of those sons they’ll never see again?<\/p>\n
September 2011<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Oh, how we rejoiced when Tony Blair came With his boyish good looks and firm decision To roll back the years of the Thatcherite shame As joy overcame the sense of derision. We watched and we hoped and we waited … Continue reading