Britain's prime minister is leaving the stage after ten years. openDemocracy writers say goodbye

He is a brilliant Scot who thinks globally - but a black hole surrounds Britain's new leader

The British prime minister's peculiar attitude to America’s leaders weighs heavily on his domestic legacy, says Godfrey Hodgson. Read the rest of this post...

Article summary Turnout rates in English local elections are critically low. They are not only the lowest in Europe, by a 12% margin, but also are falling further - by five percentage points since 1995. This is a serious problem, because disaffection with politics eventually leads to bad policy, to the withering of checks and balances, and to the disappearance of one of the most important foundations of our joint identities - the choices that we make together to give shape to our lives.  Read the rest of this post...

The increasing presence of faith issues in public life during Tony Blair's time in office is reflected in the messianic strain of his personal-political vision, says Tina Beattie. Read the rest of this post...

The true stature of Britain's prime minister may become apparent only after he leaves office, says Brian Brivati. Read the rest of this post...

Blair's brave vision of humanitarian intervention, born in Sierra Leone and Kosovo, died in Iraq. The tragedy is the waste of promise, says Felix Blake. Read the rest of this post...

The British prime minister's self-consciously new vocabulary has a complex relationship to political reality, says Norman Fairclough. Read the rest of this post...

The British prime minister has replaced real politics with a carefully crafted fiction, says Roger Scruton. Read the rest of this post...