Blair. Best.

So today was the day. The End. Or at least the beginning of it. Blair announces his intention to resign on 27 June 2007. PM for ten years, Labour leader for thirteen. Diana, Kosovo, Iraq, Olympics to the everyman. BoE independence, a minimum wage, SureStart, and record economic growth to the politico. In a world where political careers rarely end in success, the best you can hope for is an acquiescence on the part of the population. And a poll in today's Times shows that 44% of the population think he did a good job. 44%. After ten years. That's higher than Labour's share of the vote in 1997. Unashamedly centrist, with political instincts second to none, Blair was an original, unique. He had a political in tray more complex than any leader has ever faced. And he coped. He coped very well indeed in the circumstances. In fact, he made rather a good fist of it. And he did it with a certain style don't you think? The best leader we've ever had? Better than Thatcher? Better even than Churchill? You know it. And it was in our time.