Tony Blair ‘planning major intervention’ over Labour’s future
Sir Tony Blair’s think tank is said to be drawing up a policy plan to “save Labor” amid disappointments with Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.
The former prime minister is reportedly carefully examining a number of candidates for leadership campaigns. Times He suggests Sir Keir is unhappy with the direction of his government.
Sources said the November Budget “destroyed any notion that this was a Blairite or New Labour-like government”, adding that Sir Tony had all but “given up” on trying to impress Starmer in recent months.
He is now said to be working with others on the party’s centre-left to create a comprehensive policy plan for areas such as health, welfare and technology through his think tank, the Tony Blair Global Change Institute (TBI). It looks like these will be ready to present to a future leader if a leadership contest arises.
The former prime minister will speak alongside home affairs minister Shabana Mahmood at an event on Wednesday. Ms Mahmood is widely expected to stand in the event of a challenge to Sir Keir, as those close to the right of the party support his hard-line immigration policies.
Sources told Times The former Labor leader said there was “no overall plan to radically reform the state” as he reviewed potential future prime ministers.
The Prime Minister and Sir Tony have disagreed before on issues such as climate change; In May the former Labor leader argued that the talk had become “unreasonable”.
Sir Tony said in a TBI report: “People know that the current state of debate on climate change is riddled with irrationality… Any strategy based on short-term ‘phasing out’ of fossil fuels or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to failure.”
He added that most political leaders “want to take some of the hysteria out of the climate debate but are reluctant to be the first to do so.”
Downing Street responded by saying the UK was taking a “pragmatic approach” and that Sir Tony’s proposals were “consistent” with its overall mission.
Answering a question about the apparent disagreement in the House of Commons, Sir Keir sought to downplay the differences of opinion between himself and his predecessor.
The Prime Minister said in May: “Tony Blair said we need to have more carbon capture, we’ve invested in carbon capture. That means lots of jobs in different parts of the country.”
“If you look at the details of what Tony Blair said, he is absolutely aligned with what we are doing here – these are the jobs and security of the future.”
Independent He contacted the TBI for comment.
