It is rare for former prime ministers to engage in debates about public policy nearly 20 years after they left office. Other than the most general observations, they tend to avoid interventions. So, when Tony Blair offered 5,700 words of criticism directed at the party he led for 13 years, it was obviously significant. Much – though not all – of his analysis was manifestly aimed at Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Claims in Blair’s essay included Starmer’s apparent lack of vision, his drift over difficult decisions (most obviously welfare reform), his government’s failure to prioritise economic growth, and the absence of a consistent account of what it is actually doing in office.
