Blair as Cromwell? It's been almost a month, but since the Doc was dredging up Peter Hitchens' past comments the other day, why shouldn't I? I was fascinated by Hitchen's comment that Blair's was the most left-wing government since Cromwell.

First of all, I'm not sure I like to use the term "left-wing" for the mid-17th century, but passing lightly over that, I think the only basis on which that comparision can be made is Blair's emasculation of the power of the upper house, which to be sure is constitutionally unwise, but hardly regicide and the imposition of republicanism. Compared to the Atlee government, Blair really does seem to me almost Thatcherite. There are very few people in his government, at the level of decision making at least, who would believe that Aneurin Bevan was right when he asserted that he could create a National Health Service that could be run right from his desk.

Now that--social equity imposed and controlled by centralized managerialism--is left wing!