The funny thing about leadership contests is that people don't have to stand as a candidate. If they do stand and get selected and later cannot do the job, then it's no good blaming others and saying "if only this" or "if only that." Regarding Tony Blair how many people really now the man behind the public mask? Much of what is "known" about him is the rabbiting of the gutter press who for years were bed-fellows of the Tories. Now that the boot is on the other foot, they cravenly change tack. Personally I must admit that I have rarely been better off. Having worked in the Health Service for over 37 years, I saw the destruction vented on it by successive Tory governments - cutting bed numbers; closing hospitals; the introduction of the financial markets and introducing managers from industry to run hospitals on a financial basis. Those "managers" had little or no experience of health management and were better prepared to run supermarkets than hospital wards. As a result of this staff left, recruitment dropped and the staff who soldiered on were often scraping the bottom of the barrel to cope. I was glad to be able to get out of a service I loved which was not the one I joined. Anyway - sigh - I guess we'll have to agree to disagree over many points.