Another unaccountable politican out on a self serving crusade.
Blair and integrity the 917 characters remaining are insufficient to list the shady dealings of this man over the past decade which erased any integrity he may have arrived with.
In 2 or 3 years the electorate will feel the same about Gordon as they do Tony...all empty rhetoric, full of lies,spin,big egos and lust for power.

paul houghton, johannesburg, south africa

Although I cannot speak to Tony Blair's domestic accomplishments, as an American I would like to express my appreciation to Mr. Blair for being a first class world leader. Although many of my American countrymen and countrywomen do not appreciate George W. Bush, I want to thank Mr. Blair for being a reliable ally during a most tumultuous era. God bless you, Mr. Blair.

David McGuire, Owatonna, Minnesota

I do not agree with Mr Blair that our soldiers are sent to Afghanistan and Iraq to protect our country. They should be over here protecting our country patrolling the streets as it was in Northern Ireland. The crime rate would be so much lower if that were to happen. Mr Blair should have listened to the people who voted him in and bring all our soldiers back home where they belong. I hope Mr Brown sees sense and doesn't have that big ego that Mr Blair has and leaves Iraq and Afghanistan to get on with their problems without involving our squaddies. They should admit the truth about what our squaddies are going through over there, living in squaller, getting no sleep, not eating and despite reports that moral is high that isn't in any way true, the lads are scared to death and are suffering an enormous amount of trauma and emotional shock, wishing their lives away to returning home.

Jan, Rotherham, Sth Yorks

"I think that Mr. Blair did well for England after the desasterous years of Thatcher and Major, especially for the economy."

Those "disasterous years" were turbulent as all of the failed collectivist and socialist mechanisms were ripped up once and for all, and a new economic order was established - one that would eventually lead to the economic stability that Gordon Brown inherited.

What was his first action?
To separate monetary policy from government.

What was his pledge?
Economic prudence.

New Labour's was created partly a result of the inability of the Labour government to win elections even against a deeply unpopular Tory government.

New Labour have dragged unreconstructed socialists kicking and screaming into the centre, and the country is better for it.

Greg, Lancashire,

The armchair critics- those who think they know the context of Blair's actions better than a Prime Minister briefed to the hilt in the hidden detail and realpolitik- have finally had their day.

Transparency in politics makes as much sense as transparency in poker. I think history will be his judge and look forward, wondering if he'll again achieve the impossible, like Northern Ireland, like reforming the Labour Party, in his next role.

The childish belief that any PM has a magic wand to solve the country's problems is borne by personal impotence. By people who never had the nerve even to run for election, let alone succeed as conspicuously as Blair.

I wish him the best. Countries other than ours wish he was their leader. Even though Brown was the architect of most sucesses, we have been lucky to have that calibre of government and, although British and incapable of celebrating it, should at least hope for more like them, whilst wishing Blair the best of luck in the future.

Chris, London,

Please, you people need to stop your whining! How would you like to be an American and have an absolute moron as your leader? We'll trade you George Bush for ANY one of your politicians. We don't care who. We'll even take Prince Charles (that's how desperate we are).

Susan, Santa Monica, CA, USA

I like an itemized list of what will be different.
Congratulations Mr. Brown.

Em Hawthorne, Ottawa, Canada

Goodbye, and good riddance.............now all we have to do is get rid of the new lot, and the country will be safer, happier and possibly we can return to our true values.

Robin Davies, Holmfirth, England

History will judge Tony Blair as a Politician who sold his soul for votes and money.
At the last election he said he would run a full term and will not, promised a referedum on europe and didn't do it, also said he would carry on as a MP and will not. Blair will say anything and do anything for a vote.
Mr Blair also said he would be WHITER THAN WHITE then he bends his own rules that he introduced so that they can take money as a loan so they can hide, that the same people are receiving a peerage. Blair will go down in history for misleading the British public for 10 years and sending young lads to their death in Iraq on totally false information sexed up by Cambell.
l just hope that the intelligent people in society will make sure he will not get away with it. l still think Mr BLAIR will have to answer to the british courts for either IRAQ or CASH FOR PEERAGE. It will be very interesting what people will say when they are under oath and not some ineffective Hutton inquiry.

DAVID REARDON, nuneaton, uk

So the king of the cliche is finally crowned.

judy, Liverpool, england

Tony Blair would go down in history as the tallest man of EU than as the British PM.His shelf live was coming to an end and therefore,nevertheless,was a commanding personality outside Britain.His dynamism and youthful like personality made him a favourite with guys like me ,who value looks and traits.We wish him all the best in his new endevour.

Parag P Hede, Panaji/Miramar, India/GOA

Mr Blair is responsible for the deaths of many English & foreign people, also what a waste of money (billions of pounds) of English money, On his ego trip.

rodriguez, london, uk

Sayonara Blair

Denver Watt, Osaka, Japan

I think that Mr. Blair did well for England after the desasterous years of Thatcher and Major, especially for the economy. I wish him well/

Renate Baramy , Ramat Hasharon, Israel

Reneging on the referendum promise over the Europratic
Constitution - oooops ! - I mean re labelled as a minor treaty.
If thats the sort of change we are in for the title of this article is a misnomer and should read more of the same.

philip, Ipswich,

One thing I am not clear about, Who has actually appointed Mr. Blair to this post of middle east envoy? What is the salary and were there any other cadidates? Also, who is going to pay him his salary and expenses?

JohnB, Malaga, Spain

It is encouraging to witness Brown advocating the need for reform and, what it seems from this comments, a fundamental change in political ideology. Yet, if Brown’s government does have new priorities, this seems to suggest that there will be a departure from issues that are currently posing to be the most problematic. The issues are undoutably Iraq, the EU, domestic policy and internal institutional reform, although not necessarily in that order, and a solution to these matters is of utmost urgency. One hopes that ‘new priorities’ entails the adoption of a new and fresh perspective on such matters, with a view to their resolution, and not the tackling of new issues while putting current affairs on the backburner. We certainly will need to see much will, purpose and action in the forthcoming months to deal with the most contentious of matters. Thinking of Blair, one claim is certain; although his premiership consisted of ups and downs, being PM for 10 years is a phenomenal achievement.

Marcin Roth, London , UK

A great era of British politics has come to an end…

I might be naive to think that Mr Blair has made an immense impact on the way the world perceives the British “empire”, but surely most of you out there, which are not of British origin, would agree with me in my appraisal of the former Prime Minister of Britain. Mr Blair has certainly made is mark on the international arena, and must be looked upon as a man with great integrity and perseverance towards international cooperation and unity. Even though his judgement, when it comes to the war in Iraq, can be questioned, the fact still remains that he was a man of the people, and it would be tedious if he only would be remembered as a puppet figure for US government, and its ambition to create “peace” in the Middle East. Be proud of your former Prime Minister, his intentions were good, and he created a great platform for the European Union that will be cherished and appreciated by all the member countries of the EU for a long time.

Kristofer, Gothenburg, Sweden

It all became suddenly clear today : Gordon Brown is chanelling, well, Richard Nixon...Observe the slumped shoulders, the sunken eyes, the incessant twitch left and right, and evident self - discomfort, not to mention the keep-me-in-the-backgroound-please wife. Ah well,Gordon has his rectitude, they say, but anyone who got us into off book PPP financing with the Underground knows a thing or two about cooking the books at public expense. And the bright side is that Nixon was actually not a bad President, downright progressive in some ways. So there is some room to cheer as well as fear. But Gordon please lighten up - and if you can't smile you can at least say in truth "And my wife doesn't wear fur, just a plain respectable (Labor) cloth coat," which is also accurate in so far as her dress sense. And at least we won't have that high pitched over earnest whippet of a predecessor to kick around anymore. Maybe it' s time to get serious even if the unbearable lightness of Tony has gone.

Ed Mitril, London, England

He might be promising change, but if Tony Blair was the captain of the ship, Brown was his chief engineering officer. Change, Labour don't know the meaning of the word unless it provides them and their cronies with cushy jobs and secure financial futures.

Jennifer Hynes, Plymouth, England

What is Brown aiming to change? Perhaps he's hoping he can increase the number of UK companies now in foreign ownership from the 50% it is now to 100%. When he came into office it was 30% so he's doing pretty well already.

Or maybe he's keen to increase our balance of trade deficit in goods even further.. Maybe from £80bn to £100bn.. What about household debts... £2 trillion perhaps? Or house prices... Perhaps he'll allow house prices to continue to rise so that today's prices look affordable..

As to taxes well he's already shown his preference for big business by lowering their corporation tax but raising it for SMEs..

The man is strategically completely inept.

industrial Patriot, Aberdeenshire,

God help us all.

James, Newcastle, Great Britain

If Blair can run Britain for that long, any idiot can.

Amjad, Doha, Qatar

All the new leaders make beautiful speeches.
Then the power sinks in.
They surround themselves with the unelected cronies.
They forget the people who voted for them.
Then they wonder what went wrong.
I don't really think Gordon will be any different.

Mike B, ILFORD , UK

Blair has been, somehow, one hostage of his time. He not would deserved this finish.

wilson, San José, Uruguay

I agree with mark on this one. If Gordon Brown is to make a good PM he will have to prove himself. And maybe if where lucky, drop the 40% tax band.

robert , London ,

I feel sorry for Britain having the unelected Brown in charge. So much for democracy.

Karen, Ex Pat (USA),

Goodbye to Mr.Blair and best wishes to him and his family.I think he was a leader instead of all the troubles on his way..but the troubles made the path to his leadership.Congrats to Mr.Brown and all Britain.We,brazilians,hope that a new time begins to UK,full of Peace,Love and Harmony.

Carlo Azambuja, Santa Cruz do Sul-RS, Brazil

Oh dear Gordon brown? oh dear.. i don't like him at all. He seems very very 2 faced. Don't be surprised if he does a margaret thatcher.

No prime minister will ever make the UK a better place. Infact the rate taxes and housing prices are going up, by the time i reach 26 (thats in 10 years) i could still be living with my parents.

Good luck everyone. Lets just hope no one else gets into debt.

Amy, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

"Goodbye Tony - I lost faith in you after you sent our troops into Iraq. You have only made this world a less safer place to be for me and my family"

Quite possibly ...

But just for once, can we keep our eyes on the ball and blame the Islamo-fascists rather than Bush ... Blair .... Rumsfeld ....
You know, the REAL bad guys ...

Greg, Lancashire,

I'll be interested to see if he tells Bush where to go.

Karl, Redcar, Yorkshire

As an American I greatly admired Mr. Blair. He has a great deal of courage and conviction. Right or wrong I admire those traits. Only history will judge both him and Mr. Bush. I am confident it will bold well for both....

D. Sparkman, Miami, USA

who dares, wins.

thank you, mr. blair.

chris robling, chicago, usa

Has he really gone? Really? I can't believe it, he has really gone! Alleluia!

'The king is dead long live the king'!

But let's give Gordon Brown a chance, I am looking forward to substance not spin, principles and conviction, over I believe in anything you want me to depending on which favourable wind is blowing, so long as it gets me votes and makes me popular (Dave and Tony are yesterdays PC/PR, superficial, do I look good on camera politicians, but trendy Dave doesn't realise it yet).

Gordon, I promise not to criticise you for a least six months, The famous line from a song 'Give Peace a Chance,' for the next six months, it should be 'Give Gord a chance.' You are our only hope to restore our pride in Great Britain as a nation especially our International standing and repair our broken society at home. Putting right what Tony Blair did wrong will be a massive task and won't happen over night, so I wish you well Gordon Brown. Bonne Chance!

Simon Icke, Buckinghamshire, UK

Are we swapping Hitler for Stalin? a bit extreme I know but time will tell.

pete llewellyn, gloucester, gloucestershire

As an American watching all this from afar, I can only say to my friends in Britain: Good luck with your new guy. I'm only envious that we can't get rid of our current blockhead too! Not yet, anyway. Just another 572 days to go!

Julie, Winston Salem, USA/NC

From my view as an American in the heart of the Midwest being around for these past six decades I must say that the Blair years
were, indeed, among Britain's "finest hours".
I would say to Mr. Brown to continue to keep steady the course,
America and the world needs your council and guidance.

Jim Kosinski, Homer Glen, USA, Illinois

Our congratulations to Mr. Brown on his elevation to Prime Minister, and the thanks of this grateful Yank to former PM Tony Blair for his stewardship of Her Majesty's government for the past decade. Much good has been accomplished, and much remains, but from this side of the pond, our best wishes are with our friends in the UK.

Edward B Woody Ryder IV, Greenlawn, USA/NY

It's the outright eagerness and urgency shown by Brown to become prime Minister by the back door that concerns me. It's likened to a spoilt little boy wanting to go on the swings knowing full well it's not his turn. There's something sneaky about it, a bit like a cat rubbing up against your leg showing loving affection, but with the sole aim of getting fed!. Im guessing that he knows there is a small chance of him winning an election without at least having this 2 year clear run for everyone to get used to him. Labour were elected on the basis that Tony Blair was the leader of the party and would therefore be Prime Minister. It was not that he'd be here for 2 years and do a runner. Fasten your seatbelt I say.

Another thing, whats Mrs Balir's problem? she is going to become the multi millionaire she always wanted to be on the back of us electing her husband, I think a comment thanking people rather than taking a cheap swipe at the press would have been appreciated, arrogant or what!

Stuart Clark, Epping, Essex

When Mrs Thatcher went, Kenneth Baker said "we shall not see her like again". It was meant as a compliment and history has shown the truth of this statement, at least until 2007. One can say the same about Mr Blair but with an enormous sense of relief. Not, however, a relief that Mr Cameron appears to share judging by his performance at PMQs.

The extent of the damage that he has done to British public life is shown by Brown, perforce, being his heir and the Tories in rash moment saying that they are the "heir to Blair". And everyone thought Mrs Thatcher has damaged the British body politic beyond repair.

Christopher Gillibrand, Brussels, Belgium/ Europe

Is it already a sign of the secretive nature of Gordon Brown that I have no idea what policies he intends to pursue?

Tom Travers, London,

Goodbye Tony - I lost faith in you after you sent our troops into Iraq. You have only made this world a less safer place to be for me and my family.

The NHS is still a mess - witnessed by the jobs for doctors debacle

The UK is still at the bottom of the European league tables

Not sure what your lasting achievement was really.

Roger, Leeds,

Thanks for the hard work Tony. Who'd do it for a living ?

Now, be ready for more control freakery and even bigger government with the man who created the mad Tax Credit bureacracy.

Mark Duffin, Stratford Upon Avon, GB

For the first time ever I feel I must agree with Mr Bush.

S,King, Leeds, West Yorkshire