Nice work, Salford

Failures of New Labour: the Iraq War. That's the biggie, no two ways about it. 

Then I'd say not regulating the press or addressing the limitations of the electoral system*. 

But right up there with those two, I'd put maintaining the myth that immigration is a bad thing in public whilst privately accepting that it was necessary for the economy. I'd add that personally, I think that advantages from immigration are not just economic. Far from it.

As a group, people coming to work in Britain from abroad generally pay more tax and one of the many issues around immigration has been successive governments pocketing that money rather than using it to build more houses, schools, hospitals etc. And there are the roots of UKIP and Reform, right there. 

So the recent riots can be laid at the door of decades of cowardly government, as well as social media. As an aside, I've been absolutely delighted to see a number of keyboard warriors jailed for their part in contributing to the rioting. 

And I was further pleased by these posters that I saw on Chapel Street this morning on my way to grab coffees for me and the Minx. 

*It's notable how some version of alternative vote is the preferred method for most elections in this country except for general and local elections, even by the political parties themselves.