IT is 10 years July 21 since a 41-year-old Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party. He immediately set about re-branding the movement as New Labour, ditching elements of its socialist past and leading it to a triumphant election victory in 1997.

Mr Blair has since become the first Labour premier to preside over low inflation and low unemployment simultaneously. But there has been no shortage of controversy, culminating in last year's decision to lead the country into a war in Iraq.

The Daily Echo asked some of those affected by government policy for their verdict on Tony Blair's decade as leader.

Tony Fowle, Bournemouth charity worker and co-founder of the Old English Group, said: "People of modest means in their later years have been very disappointed with the performance of a so-called compassionate socialist government. I'm afraid the government appears to lack the compassion in as much as they inflict this means-testing nonsense on people who have worked for and earned a proper, full state pension. They insult them by giving less than £80 per week to a single person and £130 to a married couple."

He said Mr Blair should have restored the link between pensions and earnings. "Tony Blair is the best leader the Tories never had," he added.

Sid Willcocks, Dorset rep for the head teachers' union NAHT, said: "He said he'd put more money into education but it hasn't reached the schools.

"More schools than ever before are running on deficit budgets. More schools than ever before are making teachers compulsorily redundant. More schools than ever before are having to lose non-teaching staff as well. The Bournemouth figures bear this out. He's got his sums wrong."

David Morgan, Bournemouth representative for the National Union of Teachers, said: "Ten years ago, most schools in Bournemouth were probably in credit. I think most schools in Bournemouth are now facing budget deficits.

"As somebody said, why can't we spend money on our children instead of bombing children in Iraq?"

David Higgins, Bournemouth branch secretary for the public services union Unison, saw his members go on strike in 2002 for the first time since 1979.

He said of Mr Blair: "He's a good orator and a good negotiator and very good on the world stage and may act as a bridge between us and Europe. His minus points are Iraq in that it doesn't appear that there were weapons of mass destruction.

"I feel that perhaps the schools in this area have suffered from the way that the government grant has been re-allocated and it's very hard on local services."

Damien Stone, a former Wimborne town councillor who left Labour over the Iraq war, said: "I supported New Labour because I was worried at some stage that we'd never see another Labour government. Tony Blair said all the right things but I think he's a very devious politician and looking back on it now I think he's deceived us over Iraq and he's deceived us over the intentions for the party."

He was dismayed that the government could be cheered for planning 100,000 job cuts in the civil service.

Bournemouth East's Conservative MP David Atkinson said: "I think he started off with very great promise, particularly as New Labour was determined to be different from previous Labour governments, all of which had run into the sand after six years of government and lost the subsequent general election.

"But the Labour government has become more recognisable as a Labour government of old, with all the familiar characteristics of rising public expenditure, rising taxes, rising interest rates and failure to deliver, so Tony Blair has yet to buck the trend of two Labour terms in full before an election defeat."

But South Dorset's Labour MP Jim Knight, said Mr Blair had been a strong leader without being divisive. "As the leader of the party, he has made us electable again," he said. "He's also led the party into the centre ground of British politics, which makes it difficult for the other parties. I don't think he's done that for cynical reasons but because he wants to represent truly the majority of the British people."

Mr Knight pointed to successes such as "historic" spending on overseas aid. But he conceded there had disappointments. "We still need to resolve the issue of hunting with dogs and we have yet to complete the reform of the House of Lords," he said.

"And then locally my biggest regret is that we are yet to win the argument of funding for Dorset services being unfair."