Yes, but of course the UK did lose when it implemented Blair's policies. Maybe he's familiar with that nagging little problem called the recession? Sure the Tories have made it worse but just as the US recession has direct links to the Clinton days of free love for bankers, Blair owns his fair share of the the failed economy. Maybe if he wasn't cashing on those bankers for millions he might be able to see that others aren't doing as well. What a putz, but hey, we're talking about Tony Blair.
In his book, Mr Blair argues that traditional left-right boundaries are breaking down and that to be successful, today's politicians need to "rise above partisan politics". This reflects fears among Blairites that David Cameron, an admirer of Mr Blair's strategy, is more likely to appear above the traditional left-right fray than Ed Miliband, who is seen by voters as to the left of his party.
Mr Blair argues that New Labour, Bill Clinton's "new Democrats" and Barack Obama all reached out beyond their traditional support base and suggests the Coalition Government is trying to do the same. "Where political leaders deliberately go outside their own political base, they almost always win public approval," he says. "Face people with a choice between traditional left and traditional right and there is a traditional outcome: the left loses."
On policy, Mr Blair emphasises the need for tax rates to be competitive. He would not have introduced the 50p new top rate brought in by his successor, Gordon Brown, which Ed Miliband wants to keep for the forseeable future. "High taxes on income reduce the incentive to work," he writes.
