TONY BLAIR

The Prime Minister said 2006 would be a year of big decisions - which proved the case on both a personal and public level.

In an emotional farewell to a partially tearful party faithful, the Prime Minister - whose three General Election victories make him Labour's most successful leader ever - gave one of his best speeches.

He told conference: "The truth is, you can't go on forever: You are the future now, make the most of it."

Blair, who has been in charge of the country for 10 years, was given a standing ovation - and triumphantly marched out of the conference hall arm-in-arm with his family.

Aside from questions over his job status, 2006 was another year when his supporters say prime ministerial qualities were required - and used - in abundance.

On a legislative level he managed to get the controversial Schools Bill passed - laws which aim to give schools greater autonomy and alternative funding streams, such as from business or faith backers.

Blair managed to push the reforms through despite significant opposition from within his own party.

Blair's advocates will say he showed decisive leadership skills in trying to put a stop to shambles after shambles at the beleaguered Home Office - eventually sacking Charles Clarke over the freed foreign prisoners saga.

His fans will also say the 54-year-old also stood firm during the Israeli-Lebanon conflict, refusing to bow to pressure and to call for an immediate cessation of Israel's attacks.

It was at the height of these tensions that President Bush was recorded greeting the PM with the now infamous words: "Yo, Blair!"

Of course, throughout 2006 Blair has been dogged by criticism of the UK's involvement in combat in Iraq - a war which many people now see as the Prime Minister's over-riding legacy from a decade at the helm.

Even the head of the British Army admitted during the past year combat in Iraq was not going to the original plan, and UK troops should get out soon. But despite the raft of criticism there are those who believe that once again in 2006 Blair displayed a determination and resoluteness to see the job through to the end - when many others would have wilted.

As Blair said in his departing party conference speech in Manchester: "The British public will forgive you making the wrong decision, what they will not forgive is not making a decision at all."

For those who support Blair, such an ethos encapsulates the man. They regard him as someone who is not afraid of making a tough decision and standing by it, which is what they believe he continued to do in 2006.

CITATION "I nominate Tony Blair our Prime Minister, he has in 2006 demonstrated Kipling's injunction to 'keep your head when all those about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.' He has offered us unswerving leadership not only in foreign affairs but also in domestic policy in spite of the increasing hysteria of the media. He knows that we must confront terrorism however high the price, for terrorism that is based on religious mania is the most deadly, as it is not based on reason." David Sawtell, Cambridgeshire

RELATED LINKS

Factcheck: when did Blair agree to step down?
Blair's final conference speech