The Original Champagne Socialist - Tony Blair.

Define being comfortable? Who gets to decide what comfortable is?

 

I am sure there are plenty of people who wouldn't feel comfortable not being to fly via private jet.

I would say comfortable is being mortgage free, having a nice house worth 250K...and perhaps 100K in bank....not that i would ever be comfortable lol

to have a reported 100 million and be regarded a a socialist is not compatible in my opinion....if you had spare money like that, surely you would help people ...like mark zuckerberg did

I would say comfortable is being mortgage free, having a nice house worth 250K...and perhaps 100K in bank....not that i would ever be comfortable lol

to have a reported 100 million and be regarded a a socialist is not compatible in my opinion....if you had spare money like that, surely you would help people ...like mark zuckerberg did

Mortgage free on what - a £200,000 terrace in Sheffield or a £70,000,000 town house in Kensington? I'm just trying to point at that comfort is subjective (I imagine some people wouldn't be comfortable in a house worth 250K)

I'd have said Prescott was the original. Two jags, nice mansion, croquet etc.

Blair was more a Tory in a red tie.

I'm not sure Blair can be the 'original' champagne socialist when it was a term in use in connection with Ramada (from the hotel) socialism in the 1980s.

I'm not sure Blair can be the 'original' champagne socialist when it was a term in use in connection with Ramada (from the hotel) socialism in the 1980s.

Before you guys ever had "champagne socialists" from the late 90s, we in France got blessed with the "caviar left" of Mitterand from the early 80s

EDIT: I just Wiki'ed the expression myself out of curiosity, and I was looking at the known alternatives in other countries...

..."Bollinger Bolshevik" got a giggle out of me

A snippet from the Daily Mail about the Original Champagne Socialist.

 

 

Tony Blair was yesterday urged to give up £200,000 in annual payments he receives from British taxpayers.

Critics said that having made so many millions that he is now shutting down his business empire, the former prime minister does not need the handout.

Mr Blair pockets £115,000 every year which is meant to fund his ‘public duties’, even though he spends little time in the UK.

He is also given around £80,000 towards his gold-plated pension.

Mr Blair, who has raked in millions from his global money-spinning consultancy since quitting Downing Street in 2007, announced on Tuesday that he was closing down his secretive web of commercial companies.

He said he would devote 80 per cent of his time from now on to working for free.

He is estimated to have amassed a fortune of between £60million and £100million in nine years.

Now critics say he should turn down money from the taxpayer – which amounts to more than £1.5million from the two sources over the years.

 

I look forward to reading the post's defending Blair. They should make good reading.

 

Angel1.

Ohh look the Daily Mail publishing an anti Tony Blair story what a surprise.

You conveniently dont link the article.

I cant see why he should give up his pension nor why he should give up any payments he receives for being ex PM. So other PM's do this? This were benefits earned during his time in office. Its just jealousy because he is so adept at making money.

I thought one of the original champagne socialists was Virginia Woolf. But then that could've been because she could read a book....

I note how anglefire isnt screaming for other ex PMs or MPs to give their pensions back.

..........so Socialists don't like making money?

Definitely not, all those Union leaders do it purely out of the goodness of their hearts :hihi: