Speaker

The speaker is British politician Tony Blair. In 2005, when he delivered his speech on terror, he was the British Prime Minister and the leader of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. After his speech, he continued to be a British PM for two more years, after which he resigned as PM and party leader amid growing criticism.

The British Labour Party is a historical party, traditionally oriented towards the left—promoting social policies. However, in the 1990s the party reformed and changed its orientation towards the centre, becoming more of a catch-all party. Today (and at the time of Tony Blair’s speech), the party generally promotes worker’s rights, some economic regulations, and the welfare state.

At the time of the speech, Tony Blair had been the leader of the Labour Party for 11 years and was just entering his thi...