Accessibility links

Skip
to article

Skip
to navigation

Monday 09 February 2009 | UK News feed | All feeds

Advertisement

Website of the Telegraph Media Group with breaking news, sport,
business, latest UK and world news. Content from the Daily Telegraph and Sunday
Telegraph newspapers and video from Telegraph TV.

Enhanced by Google

Home

News

Sport

Finance

Comment

Travel

Lifestyle

Culture

Video

A to Z

Jobs

Dating

Puzzles

Offers

UK

World

Politics

Celebrities

Obituaries

Weird

Earth

Science

Health News

Education

Topics

News
Video

You are here:

Home

News

UK
News

Blair woos 'one nation' Tories

By Benedict Brogan, Political Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:45PM BST 05
Jun 2001

TONY BLAIR used his first rally of the election campaign to launch an
emotional appeal to "one nation" Conservatives, urging them to switch to Labour
on June 7.

Mr Blair told a crowd of 600 flag-waving party activists in Manchester last
night that "decent" Tories would respond to Mr Hague's economic policies by
changing sides. He said: "I believe that there are many, many people out there
who used to vote Conservative who are decent one nation Tories, who look at the
programme of the Conservative party today for cuts in our essential services
worth £20 billion.

"I believe many of those people would feel more at home with a sensible,
serious, modern Labour party." In a stump speech which saw him repeatedly move
away from the podium and speak without a text, Mr Blair said that in 1997 many
voters had refused to vote Labour because they were uncertain about the party's
ability to manage the economy.

He said: "The Conservatives were never competent managers of the economy. In
truth, they were the most incompetent managers of the economy this country has
ever seen." He seized on the defection of Sir John Mills, the actor and lifelong
Tory, who appeared on stage alongside Mr Blair following his recent decision to
support Labour.

Sir John, 92, whose screen credits include Ice Cold in Alex, Great
Expectations and an Oscar for Ryan's Daughter, appeared alongside Mick Hucknall,
the pop musician, and Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager.

Wearing a Garrick Club tie and red socks, Sir John said he was a "lifelong
Tory" who admired Mr Blair. He said: "He seems to be just right for the job. I'm
not terribly impressed by what's going on in the Conservative party."

To cheers, he told the crowd: "If we can cherish him, get behind him, back
him up I see no reason why he should not be in the driving seat in 10 years'
time, and I hope I'm here to see it." Alastair Campbell, Mr Blair's press
secretary, told journalists that the party had identified "first time switchers"
who voted Tory in 1997 because they had doubts over Labour's economic
competence.

He claimed Labour canvass returns had identified Tories who were opposed to
William Hague's policies on Europe and race and were prepared to defect. Mr
Campbell said: "The reason that people like that feel comfortable in supporting
the Labour party is because head and heart have come together."

Email
this article

Print this article

Share
this article

delicious

Digg

Facebook

Fark

Google

Newsvine

Reddit

StumbleUpon

Yahoo!
Buzz

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1330656/Blair-woos-one-nation-Tories.html

Related Content

More on UK
News

Prescott
calls in the minders

Blair
under fire from boardrooms

Davis
and Cameron launch 'change' campaigns

Blair
refuses to rule out tax increase

Blair
refuses to rule out tax increases if Labour secures a third
term

More on ...

UK News

Get feed updates

News

Get feed
updates

Advertisement

Advertisement

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Getting
to know my true self

A Multiple Personality Disorder overshadowed Ruth Dee's life - until she was
ready to abandon her alter egos.

Alan
Ayckbourn: Why my shows must go on

Is
this Kate Moss's next home?

Giles
Hattersley admits Wikipedia error

Top
10 moments in the history of live TV

NEWS MOST VIEWED

TODAY

PAST
WEEK

PAST
MONTH

Sponsored Features

Save
more with ICICI

Up to 4.30% AER fixed for 1 year with the HiSAVE fixed rate savings account.
Find out more

Australia's
Northern Territory

Hugh Jackman says the real star of his new film Australia is the landscape.
Discover the Northern Territory here.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

IN PICTURES

Bafta
2009 winners

The major winners of this year's Bafta film awards pose with their trophies.

Grammy
Award winners

In pictures: the major winners at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.

Pictures
of the day

Today: a cow sheep, a toad fish, a dough Obama and a milk shower.

TELEGRAPH DATING

yeepee123
Oh dear, this is my favourite part. not!
Running the risk of being classified as'boring' I hereby confess to an absolute
addiction to Radio 4 - Today Programme mainly but will...

See my
profile

Search for more members and join
for free

Advertisement

personal
finance

Get a return
on your money

As interest rates near zero, we look at other ways to secure an income.

travel

Romantic
retreats

Cosy bolt-holes for you and your loved one this Valentine's Day.

JOBS

560+ construction
jobs

Search thousands of opportunites in every sector.

FANTASY FOOTBALL

Who
will you pick?

Barcelona's Messi is in 46% of teams so far, but who will you play up front?

Back
to top

More Telegraph.co.uk

A to
Z

Announcements

Blogs

Comment

Crossword

Culture

Dating

Earth

Education

Expat

Fantasy
Football

Fashion

Features

Finance

Food and
Drink

Football

Gardening

Health

Horoscopes

Jobs

Lifestyle

Marketplace

Mobile

Motoring

My Telegraph

News

Obituaries

Personal
Finance

Promotions

Property

Science

Sport

Style
Book

Sudoku

Technology

Travel

Video

Weather

Widgets

Archive Contact us Reader prints RSS feeds Subscribe
and save Syndication
Today's news

© Copyright of
Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009 Terms & Conditions of
reading Commercial
information Privacy
and Cookie Policy.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1330656/Blair-woos-one-nation-Tories.html