Tony Blair addressed his constituents today announcing that he would be (finally) leaving 10 Downing Street. After ten years as Britain's Prime Minister, it is now time for the nation to reflect upon what Blair promised the electorate in 1997, and what he has delivered.

Education
Blair and New Labour promised to produce “A world class education system”.
Does Britain now have a world-class education system? – Diane Abbott MP, a great promoter of the state school clearly thinks not when she decided to educate her son at the private City of London school. New Labour's education reforms seem to depend more on the size of your bank account, than on ability, as shown with the introduction of student top up fees.

NHS and Welfare State
Blair promised to Modernise the Welfare State and Improve the NHS. “Modernise” in the New Labour lexicon translates almost precisely as: “cripple with bureaucracy and targets whilst make extensive cuts”

Economy
Britain has fallen from ninth to nineteenth in the world competitiveness league. We now spend more and earn less. Our national deficit is a huge cause for concern by many leading economists. Businesses have been suffocated by spiralling corporation tax. Stealth taxes have become symbolic Gordon Brown’s approach to the British economy.

“Restore trust in Politics”
To name a few examples:
David Blunkett’s three year affair with a married woman and impregnated her. John Prescott, “the serial groper” being accused of sexual harassment on numerous occasions, not to mention his two year affair with Tracey Temple, the cash-for-honours scandal, Tessa Jowell being accused of colluding with Silvio Berlusconi.
Whiter than white? I certainly beg to differ.

“A nation of compassion, dignity, and a sense of duty towards one another”
In only the past few months we’ve seen numerous deaths of teenagers from gun crime. You are more likely to be a victim of violent crime now than you were in 1997, while “happy slapping” is now an amusing past time since Labour came to power.

“First truly Green Government Ever”
Carbon dioxide emissions have not declined since Labour came to power in 1997 and the Government has admitted that it is not on track to meet this target. Rising emissions from transport, coal-fired power stations and the domestic and commercial sectors are problematic.

Transport
In June 1997 John Prescott said: “ I will have failed if in five years' time there are not many more people using public transport and far fewer journeys by car”. The Government's 10 year Transport Plan pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Well, Mr Prescott, you have failed.

Britain's Youth
UNICEF placed Britain at the bottom of the league table for child well-being across 21 industrialised countries in February 2007. After 10 years of so-called reforms, Britain is the worst place in the developed world for a child to grow up.

Poverty
Approximately 13 million people in Britain are poor, the same as 1992 (Joseph Rowntree Foundation). Where have all the billions of pounds of investment in tackling poverty gone?

Invasion of Iraq
Tony Blair convinced Members of Parliament that there was solid evidence that Saddam Hussein was a clear and present risk to world security, Britain and other countries national security was at risk, and the solution was to dethrone Saddam Hussein. It has transpired Blair deceived the House, intelligence was bad intelligence, and now thousands have lost their lives needlessly.

Isn’t this Blair’s real legacy?