356. Hero or Villain: Episode 4 - Tony Blair

Battleground

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 703 Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Hero or Villain, Roger Moorhouse and Patrick Bishop examine the polarising military legacy of Tony Blair. They debate whether the former Prime Minister was a noble champion of "liberal interventionism" or a reckless architect of regional chaos. The discussion moves from the early humanitarian successes in Kosovo and Sierra Leone to the strategic overreach of Afghanistan and the catastrophic intelligence failures of the Iraq War. By weighing Blair’s initial moral imperatives against the long-term destabilisation of the Middle East, Roger and Patrick attempt to settle the ledger on one of modern history's most disputed figures. What do you think? Is he a hero or a villain? Cast Your Vote! Join the debate and cast your vote on Tony Blair: https://forms.gle/w75h5XcuGx9iaswe6 If you have any thoughts or questions, you can send them to - podbattleground@gmail.com Producer: James Hodgson X (Twitter): @PodBattleground Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Shopify. With Shopify, 2026 is the year you make it happen. It gives you the tools to build your dream store, online and in person. Plus with marketing built in, it'll help you reach exactly who you need to. Join the millions who've already made the leap, like Jim Shark and all birds, and ring in the new year with Shopify.
0:23.4	Sign up for your £1 per month trial at shopify.
0:26.7	Shopify.com.ukau.ukes slash Spotify. Hello and welcome to the battleground podcast, our series Hero or Villain, with me, Roger Morehouse and Patrick Bishop.
0:51.7	As you may know, if you've already tuned in to some of our previous episodes,
0:55.5	you'll know this is a series in which we look at some of the most controversial figures of military history
1:00.4	and try to decide on which side of the ledger, hero or villain, they fall.
1:05.8	Today's subject is a man whose reputation is still widely disputed,
1:10.1	particularly on the left of British politics,
1:12.8	and who arguably played a contributory role in creating the geopolitical mess that is the current
1:18.2	Middle East, a world of failed states, porous borders and religious extremism.
1:24.4	Our subject today, of course, is Tony Blair, British Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007.
1:32.2	Now, Tony Blair is, of course, one of the primary architects of modern Britain, having master-minded
1:37.4	devolution for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and created new labour in his own image,
1:43.0	an experiment with centrist free market socialism
1:45.7	that has only recently bitten the dust with the advent of the rather more doctrinaire left of
1:50.7	Jeremy Corbyn and Kyr-Stama.
1:53.0	But it's not his political legacy that we're concerned with here, rather the military aspect of his career.
1:59.4	The military interventions in Kosovo, in Afghanistan,
2:03.2	and most controversially in Iraq, interventions which, as we shall see, were profoundly influential.
2:10.8	What's your first thought when you think of Blair, Patrick? And I wonder if you ever crossed
2:15.7	swords with him professionally? Yeah, well, on the first question, Dr. I mean, of course, it changes, doesn wonder if you ever crossed swords with him professionally.
2:21.5	Yeah, well, on the first question, Roger, I mean, of course it changes, doesn't it?
	...

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