IT WAS Tony Blair’s last TUC conference but that didn’t lessen the
visible anger shown by delegates to the arch-warmonger and privatiser.
As soon as he mounted the platform to speak, RMT railworker delegates
stood up and walked out in disgust at his anti-working class policies.
"Why should we sit down with someone who threw us out of the Labour
Party?", said RMT general secretary Bob Crow who led the walkout.
Throughout his speech Blair was constantly barracked, especially over
his toadying support for George Bush’s ‘war on terror’.
But the departing PM still had to endure some more criticism during a
question and answer session. The second delegate to quiz Blair was PCS
president and Socialist Party member Janice Godrich. She wanted to know
what he thought about the consequences of the massive Gordon Brown
initiated job cuts. And what did he think about her members – mainly low
paid civil servants – having to work alongside massively overpaid
consultants who were axing frontline jobs in the benefits service?
Like all the other questions he fielded, he avoided giving a straight
answer.
Before the conference Blair quipped to the media that this would be
his last, adding "much to the relief of us both." For once delegates
agreed with him.
