RussInCheshireJul 2, 2023

Thread:

Years ago I worked as a tech advisor for NGOs, and alongside one client I ended up present at some meetings of ministers, and watched a press conference Tony Blair did. It was astonishing.

I won't bore you with details of the campaign I was part of, but Blair had a statement about a thing relating to it.

Around 60 journalists all wanted to ask about other things.

Show threadRussInCheshireJul 2, 2023

He answered every question in detail. But sometimes he'd say "I'll come back to that" and I'd wonder what he was hiding.

But then 17 questions later a journo would ask something related, and Blair would remember the earlier question, answer them both, draw the connections, and ask both journalists if they had follow-up questions.

Show threadKim Spence-Jones 🇬🇧😷Jul 2, 2023
@RussInCheshire It’s not just Blair. If you look at interviews that Wilson or Heath did for TV, for example, you see people intellectually engaged with the subject and genuinely interested in explaining their views. So much more adult than the current playground bullies.
Show thread⁂ Fish Id Wardrobe
@KimSJ @RussInCheshire Arguably it was Blair himself that ended that – he championed the "sound bite".
Jul 3, 2023 at 12:54amWeb
Show threadKim Spence-Jones 🇬🇧😷Jul 3, 2023
@fishidwardrobe @RussInCheshire Blair was also the first PM in the modern era to show that you can still get re-elected after lying to the electorate. Not a great legacy!