Tony Blair's closest advisers repeatedly warned that his 2000 speech to the Women's Institute was too complacent, condescending and out of touch, newly released government files reveal. The former prime minister was slow hand-clapped by 10,000 WI members at Wembley Arena after delivering an address that many compared to a party political broadcast.
Documents released to the National Archives show that Alastair Campbell, then communications chief, criticised the first draft for lacking a "recharged, refocused Blair" and for sounding "rather Majoresque". He singled out lines referencing the Tate Modern and the Queen's speech as "desperate" and warned that the overall tone risked seeming patronising.
Other aides were equally scathing. Philip Gould, a strategy adviser, said the speech "leaves the wrong taste" and felt condescending. Peter Hyman, a special adviser, warned it handed the Tories "a huge propaganda victory" and could be seen as an appeal to "fuddy-duddy Britain". Sally Morgan, a political adviser, was "deeply uncomfortable" with the concept of "old-fashioned values", saying it would alienate younger voters.
Despite explicit warnings from the WI that they were sensitive to being patronised and wary of overt politics, Blair's team pushed for more policy content. A note from a No 10 official who met WI leaders a week before the speech reported that they were "clearly sensitive to being patronised".
The eventual speech, after several rewrites, was met with jeers and slow hand-clapping. Blair later recalled: "I gave them a lecture, they gave me a raspberry."
