Tony Blair

The Right Honourable Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service. He has led the Labour Party since July 1994, (following the death of John Smith in May of that year) and brought Labour into power with a landslide victory in the 1997 general election, replacing John Major as Prime Minister and ending 18 years of Conservative government. He is now the Labour Party's longest-serving Prime Minister, and the only person to have led the party to three consecutive general election victories, just as Margaret Thatcher was the only Conservative Prime Minister to win three consecutive general elections.

Early and private life

Blair was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the second son of Leo Blair and Hazel Corscadden (her family were Protestants from County Donegal, Ireland). Leo Blair, the illegitimate son of two English actors, Charles Parsons (known as Jimmy Lynton)), and Mary Augusta Ridgway Bridson was given up for adoption to a Scottish shiprigger named Blair. Leo studied the law, becoming a barrister and later a law lecturer who, despite having been a communist in his youth, became active in the Conservative Party. Leo Blair had had ambitions to stand for Parliament in Durham, which were thwarted when he had a stroke when his son was 11, an event which affected Tony Blair deeply. He spent most of his childhood years in Durham. After attending the Durham's Choristers School, Blair was educated at Fettes College in Edinburgh (sometimes called the "Eton of Scotland"{{fact}}), where he met Charlie Falconer whom he would later make Lord Chancellor. Biographer John Rentoul said "All the teachers I spoke to ... said he was a complete pain in the backside, and they were very glad to see the back of him." After Fettes, he read law at St John's College, Oxford. During his college years he also played guitar and sang for a rock band called Ugly Rumours. After graduating from Oxford with a second class degree, Blair enrolled as a pupil barrister and met his future wife, Cherie Booth, at the Chambers of Derry Irvine, also a future Lord Chancellor.

Related Topics:
Edinburgh - Scotland - Protestants - County Donegal - Ireland - Illegitimate - English - Adoption - Scottish - Barrister - Communist - Conservative Party - Durham - Choristers School - Fettes College - Eton - Charlie Falconer - Lord Chancellor - St John's College, Oxford - Guitar - Rock band - Ugly Rumours - Oxford - Cherie Booth - Derry Irvine

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Blair married Cherie Booth, a devout Roman Catholic (and future QC), on March 29, 1980. They have three sons (Euan, Nicky, and Leo) and one daughter (Kathryn). Leo holds the distinction of being the first child officially born to a sitting Prime Minister in 150 years, since Francis Russell was born to Lord John Russell on July 11, 1849. Blair attends Mass with his family every Sunday, and has been seen attending Mass at Westminster Cathedral by himself. The late Basil Cardinal Hume was forced to let him know that as an Anglican, Blair should not take communion. Blair is considered one of the most religious Prime Ministers in contemporary history and with the closest ties to the Roman Catholic Church since the Reformation. It is widely believed on all sides that he will be received into the Roman Catholic Church once he leaves office.

Related Topics:
Cherie Booth - QC - March 29 - 1980 - Euan - Nicky - Leo - Kathryn - Lord John Russell - July 11 - 1849 - Westminster Cathedral - Basil Cardinal Hume - Roman Catholic Church

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Leo Blair, the youngest Blair child, was the centre of a debate over the MMR vaccine when Tony Blair refused to say whether or not his son had received the controversial treatment.

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Euan and Nicky attended the London Oratory School in Fulham where they could be educated in accordance with the Catholic faith of their mother. When this decision was announced, Tony Blair was criticised for rejecting schools in Islington, where he then lived. Euan Blair received widespread publicity after police found him "drunk and incapable" in Leicester Square, London, while out celebrating the end of his GCSE exams in July 2000, shortly after his father had proposed on-the-spot fines for drunken and yobbish behaviour. While the Blairs have stated that they wish to shield their children from the media, they have not always been able, or willing, to do so. Blair has twice lodged complaints about press stories concerning his children. However, the fact that the family have occasionally held photo calls together has led some to accuse him of exploitation, and such photographs have been used on Private Eye covers.

Related Topics:
London Oratory School - Fulham - Islington - Leicester Square - London - GCSE - 2000 - Yobbish

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Blair is an Anglican of the High Church or Anglo-Catholic tendency, while his wife is Roman Catholic and his children are (according to Catholic doctrine) brought up in that faith. Blair has not sought to make a political issue of his faith, though biographers agree that his political beliefs have been profoundly influenced by it. One name often mentioned as a theological influence is the Scottish Christian philosopher John Macmurray. Some have suggested Tony Blair is the most religiously devout Prime Minister since William Ewart Gladstone.

Related Topics:
Anglican - High Church - Anglo-Catholic - Roman Catholic - John Macmurray - William Ewart Gladstone

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