Keir Starmer has dismissed Tony Blair’s argument that his government is on the wrong track, saying he is implementing the policies needed for today, not the very different situation faced by the former prime minister in 1997.
“You won’t be surprised to know that I don’t agree with much that Tony says about what the government is doing,” Starmer said during a visit to an apprentice training centre in west London.
It came as Andy Burnham, who was also criticised by Blair, responded by saying the ex-PM’s analysis was undermined by the “gaping omission” of acknowledging the impact of falling living standards.
In a lengthy essay published on Tuesday, Blair castigated Starmer’s record, saying the government had abandoned the centre ground and was thus putting Labour’s future at risk. He also argued that there was a lack of coherent arguments from those, like Burnham, who were seeking to challenge the prime minister.
Blair said Starmer, on entering government, should have ditched manifesto pledges on improved workers’ rights and the scale of the party’s net zero promises, and should have supported Donald Trump in his attack on Iran.
Asked for his reaction, Starmer said he agreed with Blair “that we should be having a discussion about policy and ideas, and that’s what generates politics”. But in a lengthy rebuttal of the criticism, he said the former leader had misunderstood the challenges his government faced, and the successes his policies had brought about.
