TBGB

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TBGB

TBGB.profile.jpg

Tony Blair / Gordon Brown
Names TBGB, BlairBrown, BrownBlair

Tony made repeated efforts to mollify Gordon. He saw him regularly, and, unlike most other ministers, alone. He would often spend hours on the phone talking to him at weekends. I would sometimes listen in. My wife Sarah, who once overheard a snippet of one of the regular Sunday evening calls, couldn't believe the tone of the argument. She compared it to a jilted girlfriend, complete with high emotion, threats of blackmail and tears. On another occasion, Tony called me on a Sunday evening to say he had just completed a three-hour meeting with Gordon. I asked what on earth they could have to talk about for three hours. In response, he asked if I had ever been in love. "Not with a man," I replied.~ Jonathan Powell

History[edit | edit source]

Tony and Gordon met when Tony was first elected to parliament in 1983. Gordon had been involved in Labour politics since he was basically able to crawl and so Tony was very much in awe of him to begin with - one friend described him as "mammothly dazzled" by Gordon[1]. The two were allegedly first introduced when, due to the fact that there weren't enough offices for MPs to have one each, Gordon was forced to let Tony have half his room to work in.

And the rest is history.

The Granita Pact[edit | edit source]

Following the death of then Labour Party leader John Smith in 1994, the Labour Party was all ready to have a leadership election to find his replacement. Gordon, against the advice of his supporters, refused to comment on whether or not he would stand for the leadership until after John Smith's funeral. Tony, however, had no such qualms and wanted to get it known that he would run on the ballot as soon as possible. He knew, however, that if he and Gordon were to face each other in the election, they would end up splitting the moderate Labour vote, potentially allowing for a leftist candidate to win the election and, more importantly, even if one of them did win, the election and aftermath would be very damaging. As such, Tony tried to get Gordon on side. This culminated in a fabled dinner in Islington, in a now closed restaurant called "Granita". The exact arrangements and what Tony promised to Gordon in order for him to agree to standing aside had never been fully revealed, however over the years the details that have emerged about the dinner indicate that Gordon was promised huge control over domestic policy as well as a promise that he would stand down at a specified point in the future. The pact made at the restaurant would go on to define not only Tony and Gordon's relationship for decades afterwards, but the future of the British government.

The Granita Pact is so infamous and important in understanding New Labour that there was even a film made about it - The Deal.

New Leadership[edit | edit source]

With Gordon out of the way, Tony easily won the leadership election and became the new leader of the Labour Party. Immediately he made Gordon his Shadow Chancellor.

In Government[edit | edit source]

The pleasure and thrill at the beginning, the magic of discovering each other, making progress together, that's gone. They are never going to be as good as that again. I think it's still strong, but it's much harder~ A friend of Blair[2]

Following the 1997 election the Labour Party formed a government for the first time in 18 years. It was meant to be a joyous occasion but Gordon was still pissed off with the fact that Tony was now Prime Minister when he felt it should have been him. As one Cabinet colleague put it:

It's always been there when Gordon is arguing with Tony - "you owe me" - even if it's not very often expressed~ Anonymous New Labour Cabinet Miniser[3]

This thought soured the rest of the relationship throughout New Labour's time in power. Tony and Gordon fought constantly on policy issues, presentation issues, what to have for lunch, everything. However, Tony was still fiercely protective of Gordon; at various points during his time as Prime Minister basically everyone would tell Tony to sack Gordon and come and complain to him about how mean Gordon was to them. Tony refused to remove Gordon as Chancellor, for a number of reasons, and would tell people that "he could handle" Gordon so they didn't have to worry. Despite hating each other, the bond between the two men at the head of government was still undeniably strong.

Gordon on Top[edit | edit source]

Eventually Tony stepped down as leader of the party and Gordon took over. There was much delight in the Gordon camp. Tony, after "toying" with the idea of staying in parliament as a backbencher, decided to leave front line British politics altogether. He stayed out of the way for the majority of Gordon's time as Prime Minister which was nice of him.

Retirement[edit | edit source]

Not much is known about their relationship following the 2010 general election. Tony published his memoir in which he talks about Gordon a lot, including why he thought that Gordon wasn't really "New Labour" anymore and that's why they lost. Occasionally they appear at important events together, both being former PMs and more often than not are seated together.

With Tony jet setting around the globe trying to spin for left-of-centre parties and trying to solve the problems he caused in the Middle Easy and Gordon jet setting around the globe trying to bring education to all children everywhere, it's entirely possible that, every so often, they meet up for dinner in a restaurant with a name like "Granita" on some part of the planet.

Support[edit | edit source]

As well as the entirety of the British press shipping them on and off since the 1980s, they have even been known to ship it themselves as the following quotes from Tony's memoir explains:

Our minds moved fast and at that point in sync. When others were present, we felt the pace and power diminish, until, a bit like lovers desperate to get to love-making but disturbed by old friends dropping round, we would try to bustle them out, steering them doorwards with a hearty slap on the back.~ Tony Blair

We were like a couple who loved each other, arguing whose career should come first.~ Tony Blair

Tony has also been known to compare their relationship to a marriage

But the shipping is not limited to just Tony. Gordon once said of his bond with Tony:

There’s no closer relationship in the world~ Gordon Brown[4]

Other people in government also shipped it.

It is like a marriage, a tempestuous marriage. The rows can be terrible. But if you're on the outside and you interfere, you won't be thanked for it afterwards. You come between them at your peril. When it comes to make-up time, everyone else is to blame, rather than they themselves~ Anonymous New Labour source[5]

Media[edit | edit source]

For as long as the two have been in the eye of the press there have been jokes about them. Long before their was the rose garden wedding there was TBGB.

As previously mentioned there was a film made about their early relationship in the lead up to the 1994 Labour party leadership election. There have been countless investigative reports and documentaries about the relationship between the two and even more books written, either about TBGB specifically, or those sorts of relationships in general.

Fanon[edit | edit source]

There have been many fics written about TBGB, both in a close to real life setting and in numerous AUs. Generally the ship features angst, anger, hatesex or some combination of the three.

Gallery[edit | edit source]


References[edit | edit source]

  1. Rawnsley, A, Servants of the People: The Inside Story of New Labour (2001) p 144
  2. Rawnsley, A, Servants of the People: The Inside Story of New Labour (2001) p 145
  3. Rawnsley, A, Servants of the People: The Inside Story of New Labour (2001) p 145
  4. Rawnsley, A, Servants of the People: The Inside Story of New Labour (2001) p 144
  5. Rawnsley, A, Servants of the People: The Inside Story of New Labour (2001) p 147