« Hewlett Packard Hikes 2Q Outlook | Main | Are Cyclicals Leaving Orbit? »

Later this week, Tony Blair will pack his bags and leave 10 Downing Street after 10 years in office.

It's worth reflecting on how much Blair has changed Britain. He had the Labor Party drop its controversial Clause IV, which called for the "common ownership of the means of production." I don't think you could get elected dogcatcher in America if you believed that.

So how has the British Dow, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE), done under Blair?

May 2, 1997: 4,455.60

May 4, 2007: 6,603.70 (the British market was closed yesterday)

That's 48% in 10 years, although the FTSE gained 37% in his first ten months in office. Since April 6, 1998, the British market is up just 8.2%.

In that same time, the British pound has increased from $1.62 to $1.99.

Posted by edelfenbein at May 8, 2007 10:01 AM