Successes And Slip-ups

First the good news...

First the good news . . .

The Belfast Agreement: truly historic, Blair felt the hand of history . . . and he grabbed it.

Devolved power for Scotland and Wales: historic hand-up also for Scottish and Welsh devolution (as promised).

A mayor for London: who will succeed Dick Whittington? Jeffrey Archer? Ken Livingston?

READ MORE

Women MPs in the Commons: Blair's Babes - to some - have risen from 40 before the election to 101 after it.

The feelgood factor: a Tory invention reinvented (by Blair) as Cool Britannia.

His handling of the death of Princess Diana: Blair judged the national mood perfectly when he spoke of the People's Princess; by contrast Tory leader, William Hague, got it badly wrong when he classed her merely as an energetic young woman.

Relations with Europe: healthier by a mile after the serial rowing under the Tories; Blair has even managed to cut a dash with the French by addressing the National Assembly in what one Paris minister said was exceptional and elegant French.

Middle East peace talks: he got the Israelis and Palestinians to agree to talk in London next Monday - thus solidifying his reputation as an international peace-maker.

Interest rates: by making the Bank of England independent, Blair has side-stepped responsibility for setting interest rate - and with the inevitable political flak that comes when they go up (and they've gone up five times) brilliant and right said former Tory chancellor, Normal Lamont.

The economy: A mini-budget and the Chancellor's full budget earlier this year were broadly welcomed; the people, it seems, trust Labour with the economy.

And now the bad . . .

The Formula One affair: don't take £1 million from the boss of F1 motor racing and then argue against banning Grand Prix tobacco sponsorship (and then say sorry).

Geoffrey Robinson: the Paymaster General with money offshore in Guernsey (discovered when he was trying to stop other people doing the same).

Lord Irvine: spent £650,000 refurbishing his official apartments (hand-made wallpaper at £350 a roll). Uncool Britannia.

Spin doctors: Peter Mandelson and Alister Campbell rule with iron fists; MPs are tethered by message beepers and parrot government policy like robots.

Robin Cook: is he up to the job? No, say his critics, pointing to embarrassing gaffes during a recent visit to Israel; he also dumped his wife in favour of a younger woman (his secretary).

The Millennium Dome: no one really knows what it's all about . . . and it's costing a whopping £758 million.

Welfare Reform: forty-seven Labour MPs staged a Commons revolt in November over the proposed cut in single parent benefits and disability benefit. Amid denials of a split, Blair shunted the issue into a ministerial group on welfare reform.