Reg Keys' Sedgefield speech
The certain highlight of election night was grieving father Reg Keys delivering a note-perfect speech having polled over 4,000 votes in Sedgefield against Tony Blair - the man he blames for his son's death (though it's nowhere near that simple - certainly not from Keys' point of view).
It was one of those speeches that the transcript does no justice to - it really had to be seen for the full impact to sink in, and seen in full - even the highlights can't give the full impression. The look on Blair's face - the combination of irritation, fear, genuine sympathy and humanity, and a constant awareness that the cameras were trained close on his face to catch every slight involuntary reaction to the razor-like barbs that were Reg Keys' perfectly-delivered, spot-on words.
This, Blair was fully aware, was footage that would crop up again and again in overviews of his time in office. This was his Thatcher crying in the back of the car moment, his John Major "the bastards" moment, his Bill Clinton "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" moment. He knew it would never go away.
But, coming as it did at ten to three in the morning, few were still up to see it live. Now, thanks to Dave of Talk Politics and Tim Ireland of Backing Blair and Bloggerheads, the full video is online (3.5mb .wmv file).
Watch, listen, watch Blair wriggle. Be satisfied with how uncomfortable he was, but be prepared to be uncomfortable yourself. This is a man talking about the senseless death of his 20 year old son. It is not easy listening. Blair's reactions also - almost - show that he may not be altogether beyond redemption.
3 Comments:
Sorry Nosemonkey but I have very little sympathy for Reg Keys. His son Tom was a very brave man, putting his life on the line in order to help others. He was a far better man than me or most people reading this.
But it seems to me for his father to use his own son's death as a political football is sickening. For you to use Tom as such is beneath contempt.
Erm... OK... I wasn't aware that I was using Tom Keys for any purpose whatsoever. If I was, could you let me know how and what for? I thought I was merely pointing out one of the most memorable moments of election night.
DM Andy's comments are extremely ignorant and offensive. Claiming that a father used his son's death to further his ambitions is sick in the extreme. Reg Key's, if DM Andy had done any research, was a normal working man with no political careerism in his background. His son died in a pointless war, fought for prestige and money. That Keys stood up to the powerful is to be commended, he ensured his son's life wasn't wasted; something positive came out of it.
DM Andy really is a complete tool.
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