Tony Blair's leadership was not defined by the Iraq War

One could argue that Tony Blair shouldn’t be regarded as a war criminal as his leadership was not defined by the Iraq war. The latter war should not overshadow the achievements that Blair’s leadership brought to the UK. The Labour politician served as the Prime Minister of the UK between May 1997 and June 2007 when he resigned due to internal party pressures and low approval ratings. During his Premiership, Blair has been praised for certain policies that have overall led to the development of the UK. As a labour politician we can thus mainly cite social policies strengthening the welfare state. Overall, his policies have has led to a reduction in relative poverty in the UK. For instance, he increased public spending in healthcare and education and introduced a minimum wage in April 1999. Another sector in which Blair is praised for advancing the UK is his efforts in the peace process with Northern-Ireland. The result of his engagement is the so-called Belfast agreement of 1998 also called Good Friday Agreement. The latter has put an end to most political violence in Northern-Ireland. Furthermore, Tony Blair can even be considered as a Civil Rights advocate if we consider what important legislative changes enhancing LGBTQ+ rights in the UK were adopted under his Premiership. The most known measures are for instance the Civil Partnership act of 2004 and the right for transgenders to modify their birth certificates included in the Gender Recognition Act. These advancements in domestic affairs show that the Iraq War cannot be regarded as the defining element of Blairs Premiership. His other achievements weigh higher than the involvement in the Iraq war.

[P1]Good actions can outweigh actions that are deemed to be negative. [P2]Consequently, there needs to be a qualitative assessment of the outcome of the actions in question to weigh them against each other.