It is inevitable given that it became the issue that defined his premiership – the failed invasion of Iraq will be seen as Blair’s great legacy.
He got plenty of other things wrong too, but for all his words about a progressive majority, his inaction on electoral reform paved the way for majority right wing government.
Had he been brave enough to face down the conservative forces in his own party we could have seen the 1999 Jenkins commission proposals implemented.
He wasn’t.
In his excellent autobiography, Ming Campbell recalls his wife Elspeth whispering to Blair at John Smith’s funeral, ‘Don’t Forget The Liberals’. ‘I won’t’ was the response.
We all know what actually happened.
Had Blair had the courage to introduce PR we would have almost certainly seen a Labour/Lib Dem coalition at some point during the last decade.
Coalition is difficult, we know that, so I am not arguing things would have been plain sailing, anymore than working with the the red team would be than it was with the blues.
However the advantages of an arrangement with Labour are clear.
There would have been a better policy fit and a higher level of Lib Dem voter retention given the fact that the majority of our supporters are more centre left than centre right.
The mistake our leadership made was trusting Blair too much. Some might say that we repeated that error in our dealings with Cameron.
Of course it is tempting for any political party having won a Parliamentary majority under FPTP to potentially risk losing through a change to PR.
Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party are in that position right now. It will be fascinating to watch how his new government implements their election promise to reform the voting system.
Back here in Britain we have to deal with Blair’s other legacy. A right wing Tory government cutting benefits, restricting workers rights and scapegoating the vulnerable.
We can’t change what has already happened but we can learn from it.
I am confident that our party, the Liberal Democrats, is rebuilding fast and could be a strong third force as we approach the next General Election.
If we even get a sniff of power then, a cast iron committment to PR for the House of Commons must be our price for any cooperation with other parties.
* David Warren is a lifetime political activist for progressive causes and a liberal.