Ranking Tony Blair’s Top Catchphrases With The Man Himself!

We remember former Prime Minister Tony Blair for lots of things – his snappy dress sense, coy smile, and unquenchable thirst for limericks. But most of all, we remember him for his catchphrases, which delighted the nation for over a decade. We recently had the honour of sitting down with the man himself and having him rank his classic catchphrases, from worst to best.

7. “Gimme Da Biscuit!” (2004-2005)

Via blairfiles.blair.com

TONY SAYS: “This one just didn’t work. I thought something a little abstract and playful would go down well. But this was during a tough time – the war on terror was in full flight, and I was receiving a lot of criticism. In retrospect, I should’ve gone with a catchphrase that showed a little more reverence towards the rather serious situation.”

6. “I may be in the hot seat, but I assure you my buttocks are made of teflon” (2006-2007)

Via onlyblair.can

TONY SAYS: “I can see what I was going for with this catchphrase – an attempt to capture the poetry of the classic catchphrases of John Russell and Benjamin Disraeli. But this one was just a little too clunky - and the saucy language was simply unnecessary.”

5. “Check out my Cadillac!” (2001)

Via quips.com

TONY SAYS: “For a while, this one worked brilliantly. It set me apart from the likes of William Hague, whose own catchphrase, “I have a Fiat Punto”, always struck me as a way less cool twist on mine. Ultimately, though, people began to realise that I didn’t actually have a Cadillac, which was quite embarrassing. At that point, I quickly put this one away.”

4. “Prepare for a dust up!” (1996 – 1997, 2003)

Via theoutrageoustonyblair.blogspot.com

TONY SAYS: “I used this one during my first election campaign. When delivered with the appropriate venom, I sounded like the toughest guy in politics, which is what I was going for at the time. Once in office, I felt that I should probably retire this threatening catchphrase, but it certainly served its purpose. I briefly reintroduced it during the war, but six years on I couldn’t deliver it quite as well.”

3. “Did someone say Tony Blair?” (1994 - 2005)

Via blairmeister_general.org

TONY SAYS: “My longest-running catchphrase. I’d drop this one in intermittently when I felt I wasn’t getting enough attention, in the media, at social events, or just around the house. The great thing about this catchphrase was that no one actually needed to have said “Tony Blair” for it to work.

2. “I ain’t that kind of politician, hombre!” (2000 – 2006)

Via newlabour.tonyblair.co.uk

TONY SAYS: “I loved this one. Loved it. Particularly, I loved how versatile it was – I could substitute “politician” for pretty much anything: father, chef, dancer, you name it. If I didn’t like someone’s suggestion as to how I should go about a task, bam. I’d hit ‘em with my catchphrase. I imagine I’d still be saying it to this day if Cheryl and John [Prescott] hadn’t sat me down and told me to freshen up my catchphrase.

1. “Soon, you will know the taste of true horror” (1994 – 1996)

Via death.com

TONY SAYS: “The original! For better or for worse, I’ll always have fond memories of this catchphrase. It goes to show that sometimes in catchphrases, the message itself isn’t as important as the rhythm, the texture of the words. I mean, I never really intended on wreaking any horror on anyone – and yet, this portentous catchphrase, combined with the black robes I sported at the time, made me one of the most talked-about men in politics!”

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