Political Survey: Tony Blair

United Kingdom

Architect of "New Labour" and Prime Minister since 1997.

Answers

These are the answers which we judge Tony Blair would have given to the survey. Where appropriate, answers are accompanied by a rationale which explains why we believe this person would have given the answers we claim.

Statement
New roads and railways should be built by private companies, not the government. Expanded the PFI, and demands that routes such as Crossrail be built with private funding.
Services like health care, education and social security should be provided by the government, not by private enterprise. Blair has enormously expanded the use of private companies to provide public services under contract.
Sometimes interest rates should be raised to reduce inflation, even if doing so would cause a large number of job losses. Acquiesced in Gordon Brown's decision to make the Bank of England independent to achieve exactly this aim.
Drivers should pay enough tax to cover the cost of environmental damage caused by motor transport, even if that would price some people off the roads. Introduced the fuel tax escalator.
The wealthy should pay a larger proportion of their income in tax than the poor.
The government should raise revenue by taxing consumption rather than income. Has avoided VAT rises, and introduced VAT rebates on fuel for pensioners.
Overall, economic migrants bring benefits to our country.
The government should subsidise farmers so that they stay in business, even if it would be cheaper to buy food from abroad. Has been fighting in Europe for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
Smokers should be required to kick the habit before receiving medical care for smoking-related illnesses.
Everyone bears a moral responsibility for the actions of their government, even when they do not support them.
Anybody who wants top-quality health care should expect to have to pay for it. Is committed to improving the NHS and keeping it free at the point of delivery.
The mix of minorities in public institutions should reflect their numbers in the general population. Supported all-women shortlists for Labour Parliamentary candidates.
Having individual local representatives is more important than electing parties in exact proportion to their support. Has failed to introduce a new Royal Commission on electoral systems.
Officials like public prosecutors should be directly elected rather than chosen by the government. Introduced locally-elected mayors and has with David Blunkett made some moves towards democratising police authorities.
For society to be cohesive, it is important that everyone shares a common language. Proposed introduction of a "citizenship test" for new residents, including a component testing command of English.
Legal protection for free expression creates more trouble than it's worth. Introduced the Human Rights Act, which protects free expression and many other fundamental rights.
Nobody should go hungry, even if they refuse to work.
Some art should receive government funding.
Our nation has a glorious history.
A person's social status shouldn't depend on who their parents are. Is abolishing the hereditary principle in the House of Lords.
We should offer sanctuary to anybody fleeing persecution. Is hardening asylum regulations.
There are some ethnic groups who can never be fully integrated into our society.
Everyone should stand up for the National Anthem.
Class distinctions should exist.
To protect society from drug abuse, narcotics must be banned.
Alcohol is a more dangerous drug than marijuana.
Shared religious beliefs should be an important part of our society.
Family is more important than society.
Sometimes the only way to make a legitimate point of view heard is to break the law.
Our society needs more lawyers.
Some crimes are so serious that the only proper punishment is the death penalty.
Dealing with nuisance crimes like petty vandalism makes serious crime less likely. Both of his Home Office appointees -- Jack Straw and David Blunkett -- have experimented with "zero tolerance" policies.
Everyone should have the right to trial by jury. Has introduced new types of terrorist trials and collaborated with Jack Straw in attempts to limit the right to trial by jury.
It's more important to rehabilitate criminals than to punish them. Has expanded the numbers of people jailed.
It is only acceptable to use proportionate force to defend your property from criminals.
Members of our society should be familiar with the history and traditions of our culture. Citizenship tests again.
Overall, young people benefit from compulsory military service.
Schools should concentrate on training people for the workforce.
Schools should not teach children anything which contradicts their parents' religious faith.
Some people should not have access to the Internet.
Correct grammar is important.
Scientists bear no moral responsibility for how their discoveries are used.
Some technologies should never be used, whatever their benefits.
Some medical research would require so many animal experiments that it should not be done, whatever the benefits. Supports HLS.
Religious faith should be based on the literal word of God.
There is a place for organised religion in government.
There are some sexual acts which are immoral, even between consenting adults.
It is immoral to be lazy.
It is never moral to break the law.
No woman should be allowed to have an abortion, whatever the circumstances.
National law should always override international agreements.
Sometimes civilians are a legitimate military target. Supports the nuclear deterrent, which could not be used without causing considerable civilian casualties.
The people of this country have a very different character to those of our neighbours.
Aid projects abroad should always be funded by charities, not the taxpayer. Sharply increased the foreign aid/development budget.
It's acceptable for a businessman to bribe a foreign official to complete a sale.
Our armed forces should intervene to stop genocide in other countries. Kosovo. Sierra Leone.
Our sense of right and wrong comes from religious faith.
Children should always obey their parents.
In the right circumstances, cutting taxes can increase government revenue.
Economic globalisation will increase inequality.
It's more important to make the poor richer than to decrease the gap between rich and poor.
There is a danger that some large corporations will become more powerful than governments.
Aggressive foreign policies can put a stop to international terrorism. Has supported Bush in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere.
Drug abuse is a problem primarily because of its effects on drug users, not its effects on the rest of society.
The only way for some workers to achieve fair pay is through collective bargaining.
Nobody should be sacked for going on strike.
Small businesses are more important to the economy than large corporations. Has favoured big business in policy making, and operated a "revolving door" policy between large British companies and various government posts.
The government should act to stop companies paying executives excessive salaries. Believes that this is a matter for shareholders.
Workers in the public sector should be paid as much as those doing similar jobs in private industry.