Talk:Tony Blair

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Former featured articleTony Blair is a former featured article. Please see the links under Article milestones below for its original nomination page (for older articles, check the nomination archive) and why it was removed.
Main Page trophyThis article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on July 28, 2005.
Article milestones
DateProcessResult
December 19, 2004Featured article candidatePromoted
May 26, 2006Featured article reviewKept
June 19, 2007Featured article reviewDemoted
July 4, 2007Good article nomineeNot listed
April 18, 2011Good article nomineeNot listed
Current status: Former featured article

Can we hyperlink Sir?[edit]

Can we hyperlink the prefix sir in front of his name? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Edward Jocob Philip Smith (talkcontribs) 19:21, 15 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Should we change the infobox image?[edit]

My proposed infobox image

Ak-eater06 (talk) 23:50, 27 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

User:ianmacm your thoughts on changing the infobox image? Ak-eater06 (talk) 01:05, 1 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I've said numerous times that the current infobox image in which Blair has a weird fixed stare would not be my personal choice. Other people have also said that they are not fans of this image. My personal choice is this, which is cropped and edited from a 2009 image on Commons and has been used in the past.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 07:02, 1 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

User:ianmacm I find your proposed image awkward as his mouth is wide open. What are your thoughts on my proposed image? Ak-eater06 (talk) 22:34, 1 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

It's ok, but I'm not a great fan of his facial expression in this image either.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 07:01, 2 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Proposed image #2

I’ve recently came across this fairly recent image of Blair on the Commons and thought it would be a suitable image to have in the lead. @Ianmacm:, @Ak-eater06: – what do you both think? 2A01:4C8:1406:5988:8D8F:EF06:E212:536A (talk) 17:00, 7 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Proposed image #2 is OK and shows Blair in 2019. Again there is a slight problem with Blair's facial expression but it is better than some that have been suggested.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 18:24, 7 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Re this edit: I'm not sure why Neveselbert always reverts back to Tony Blair 2010 (cropped).jpg because it is by no means the best or most natural image of Blair. The image suggested in this edit is passable and gives a more natural look at Blair in action.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 17:43, 25 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]
It's a portrait taken by a professional photographer for the European Commission. It's the closest thing we have to an official portrait. I don't see how it's "unnatural"; his pose is the same as that of Vladimir Putin in his infobox image. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 18:48, 25 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Personally I feel as though a photograph of Blair during his premiership would be best for the article, as the majority of infobox images for UK Prime Ministers (Theresa May, Boris Johnson, etc) are from their premierships. So having Blair's infobox image be a photo from his premiership would make the most sense IMO. The proposed infobox image would work great as it's taken during Blair's premiership and is also used for his sidebar too. --88.108.44.8 (talk) 20:02, 22 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think the current image should be changed at all, but if it were to be changed it think it should be the one I've put forward. It's the closest thing we have to an actual official portrait. Tim O'Doherty (talk) 16:38, 26 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I support the first choice. Near all PMs have their official portraits, or those otherwise taken during their premiership, and it makes no sense to have one from 2010. Ditto for US presidents etc., despite more current photos existing for e.g. Jimmy Carter or John Major. JJLiu112 (talk) 15:15, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
It makes perfect sense. Blair was still serving as special envoy at the time of the photograph, and this is the closest we have to an official portrait of him in office. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 17:07, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I support the 2002 image, because (1) Blair was Prime Minister and we have precedent for PMs' images being from their premiership (2) the photo was tacitly OK'd by a govt body (held in NARA), assuming America is ~ EU and (3) it's otherwise an image of acceptable quality. JJLiu112 (talk) 18:34, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The 2002 image isn't a professional portrait (it's cropped from a landscape image), the 2010 image is and it's the highest quality image of Blair that exists on Commons. Also, the precedent is not for images being from the premiership but from when they were last in office, and Blair is unique in having held office after leaving the premiership. Per MOS:LEADIMAGE, Lead images should be natural and appropriate representations of the topic; they should not only illustrate the topic specifically, but also be the type of image used for similar purposes in high-quality reference works, criteria which the 2010 image meets as his portrait from serving as special envoy. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 18:48, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Think the image used should be Tony Blair 3.jpg as it appears more updated and is from when he was still special envoy. Also of high quality Fm675 (talk) 20:45, 12 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

"In 2003, Blair supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq and had the British Armed Forces participate in the Iraq War, claiming that Saddam Hussein's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs); no WMDs were ever found in Iraq."[edit]

Can this sentenced be changed to "In 2003, Blair supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq and had the British Armed Forces participate in the Iraq War, claiming that Saddam Hussein's regime possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), which were never found there." 79.66.89.36 (talk) 20:18, 8 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Crest reveal[edit]

Heraldic sculptor Ian G Brennan has updated his website to reveal his model of Blair's crest. [1] [2] Robin S. Taylor (talk) 09:53, 25 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Shield reveal[edit]

Baz Manning has released photographs of the Dean of Windsor's tables, showing Blair's shield as a Knight of the Garter.[[3]] Robin S. Taylor (talk) 20:14, 24 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Come on, give this man a decent picture[edit]

The current one shown on top of this article is putting him in an unfavourable light. 2003:DA:C708:FD00:5110:951:3DE4:1F7E (talk) 04:02, 13 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

How so? It's the EU's portrait of him as special envoy. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 15:50, 13 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
If you look at the discussions above and in the archive, the current infobox image does not have a huge fan club. The problem is lack of consensus for what should replace it.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 17:30, 13 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
It's the best-quality portrait available of Blair on Commons. The idea that it puts him "in an unfavourable light" is utterly ridiculous. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 20:31, 19 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 19 November 2023[edit]

Request to add

under

. 223.25.74.34 (talk) 13:20, 19 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: The war and various aspects of it are already linked-to in the article.

Tony Blair Rock Opera?[edit]

Under portrayals, it might be worth mentioning that Harry Hill created a rock opera that toured the UK in 2023: [4]https://tonyblairrockopera.co.uk 86.27.111.130 (talk) 13:16, 19 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Added. Jonathan Deamer (talk) 14:24, 19 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Persistent unsourced additions[edit]

@Jambo5555 - Do you have a source for your claims that Blair is placed "in the top teir [sic] of British prime ministers" or that he "often ranks highly" in historical rankings of them? You've failed to provide one in eight edits and your vague gesturing to "historians, other scholars, the public, journalists and MPs" in your edit summary catastrophically fails WP:V. Tim O'Doherty (talk) 21:30, 17 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Tim,
let's sort this out. Sorry for 'gesturing' and 'catastrophically failing'. I'm judging 'ranking highly' as top ten, but you can dispute that.
Academics:
November 2004, https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/rating-british-prime-ministers. Tony Blair ranked 6th.
August 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5294024.stm. Tony Blair ranked 3rd.
August 2010, https://web.archive.org/web/20100806030353/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7923790/Gordon-Brown-third-worst-PM-since-1945-poll-of-historians-finds.html. Tony Blair ranked 3rd.
October 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-worst-prime-minister-ranking-third-since-ww2-a7358171.html. Tony Blair ranked 3rd.
July 2021, https://theconversation.com/theresa-may-joint-worst-post-war-prime-minister-say-historians-and-politics-professors-in-new-survey-163912. Tony Blair ranked 3rd.
Public (admittedly, these are breif and not recently published):
June 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/the_daily_politics/6242715.stm. Blair ranked 3rd.
October 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/7647383.stm. Blair ranked 6th.
Journalistic: Doesn't rank highly, I shouldn't have listed that.
Members of Parliament:
May 2015, http://politicsblog.ac.uk/2015/05/05/the-prime-ministerial-ratings-game-a-parliamentary-perspective/. Blair ranked 3rd.
I'm sorry that I made unsourced edits. I assumed that the 'historical rankings of prime ministers' wikipedia article would be sufficent reference. I honestly believe this is relevant to a overview of Blair's position as prime minister, and within the wider context of British politics. I'm sorry you're taking issue with this, I'm not out to execute a imposition of a Tony Blair wikipedia page, I just tried to make a edit I honestly though would be helpful.
Thanks. Jambo5555 (talk) 21:47, 17 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Some of these are a bit iffy, like politicsblog and theconversation. Some, like The Independent, are good. If you want to add that, you can put it in the article body itself rather than in the lead. PS: I personally like Blair. I don't like unverified info. That's what I'm taking issue with: not you. Tim O'Doherty (talk) 21:52, 17 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Okay fair enough. Sorry for being a bit of a dick, I've had a really bad day.
I think I'm just going to leave it. I get what you're saying, certainly politiicsblog isn't a good source, and like you say historical rankings are a bit sporadic and patchy. Jambo5555 (talk) 21:54, 17 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
No worries. All the best for the future — Tim O'Doherty (talk) 21:55, 17 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Image[edit]

I know this has been discussed many a time but I think we should have an image for when he was in office probably a photo used in the 2005 United Kingdom general election infobox as it is an up to date image for when he was in office. RealTaxiDriver (talk) 20:27, 29 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

TBH I'm not a fan of Tony Blair WEF (cropped). This is another photo where he is pulling a weird face, and it would be better to have one with a more natural expression.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 08:18, 30 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
He actually was in office in 2010, the time of the current image, as special envoy. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 19:24, 30 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It wasn't his main office. For instant David Miliband has portraits whilst he is President of the International Rescue Committee but he still has his 2007-2010 portrait. RealTaxiDriver (talk) 20:45, 1 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
He does? I've looked at c:Category:David Miliband, and I can't find a portrait of him as president. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 17:08, 2 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I meant that there are photos of him when he was in office. RealTaxiDriver (talk) 09:03, 3 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Not portraits, though. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 19:39, 3 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hyperlink Sir?[edit]

If the right honourable is hyperlinked, shouldn't the Sir Prefix be as well? Edward Jocob Philip Smith (talk) 19:42, 16 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

No because people generally know what "Sir" means in this context. ... discospinster talk 21:22, 11 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]