Heroes or Villains? The Blair Government Reconsidered

How will history assess Tony Blair's 10 years as prime minister? Will he be remembered for bringing peace to Northern Ireland, reviving public services and promoting equality; or for Iraq, and paving the way for Jeremy Corbyn and Brexit? Will he be praised for modernising the machinery of government, or condemned for degrading politics with spin?

Dr Jon Davis is Director of The Strand Group at The Policy Institute, King's College London, and author of Prime Ministers and Whitehall (2007). He is the lecturer and coordinator of several other teaching modules including 'The History of the Prime Minister since 1945—in partnership with No. 10 Downing St', and 'The Treasury and an Introduction to Economic History—in partnership with HM Treasury'. He worked as an investment banker before turning to an academic career, and also spent a year in the Cabinet Office's Modernising Government Secretariat.

John Rentoul is Chief Political Commentator for The Independent, Visiting Professor at King's College, London, and the author of an acclaimed biography of Tony Blair. He has previously been a political reporter at The Independent, the BBC, and the New Statesman. Together with his co-author Jon Davis, he ran the Blair Government course at Queen Mary, from 2008 to 2014.

Contact details for event

Blackwell's Bookshop

events.oxford@blackwell.co.uk

01865 792792