Audience

Tony Blair’s speech on terror was delivered following the London bombings on the 7th of July, 2005. The speech was covered by British and international media.

The speech was also intended to have a general British and international audience. This is particularly important considering that Tony Blair had recently suffered a significant drop in popularity despite winning the most recent election. Blair consequently takes this speech as an opportunity to attempt to restore the public’s confidence in him as a leader.

Note that the speaker addresses both the politicians listening to his speech and the British people more generally: “They are well-financed. Look at their websites.” (ll. 26-27); “We must pull this up by its roots. Within Britain, we must join up with our Muslims community to take on the extremists.” (ll. 107-109).

The content of the speech indicates that terrorists are also part of Tony Blair’s target audience — that he wants his message and his show of strength to reach terrorist networks as well: “This is the battle that must be won, a battle not just about the terrorist method...