After less than two years of Labour in office, Tony Blair’s verdict could hardly be more damning.
In a critique running to more than 5,600 carefully chosen words, the former prime minister has delivered an indictment of Keir Starmer’s Government that is as devastating as it is comprehensive. Sir Keir might be forgiven for reading the full text with a hand splayed over his eyes.
The Daily Mail has had its differences with Sir Tony, but it is difficult to fault his assessment that Labour came to power with ‘no worked-out, coherent plan for the country in a fast-changing world’.
It was certainly clear from the outset that Sir Keir entered Downing Street with a sense of entitlement fuelled by the previous 14 years of Conservative rule. But it was just as apparent that he was totally unprepared to deal with major issues such as Britain’s defence requirements, the growing AI threat and an increasingly febrile geopolitical climate.
Little has changed in the past 22 months. Ever since he got the keys to No 10, Sir Keir has been making it up as he goes along. The reason he has performed so many U-turns is because he is manufacturing policy decisions on the hoof.
It isn’t so much that Sir Keir lacks a grand vision – he lacks any vision at all. In the absence of anything resembling a masterplan, the results have been as dismal as they have been predictable.
The onslaught of anti-business policies and red tape has left us with a stagnant economy. Depressingly, the main areas to record any growth have been our welfare bill, tax burden and illegal migrant population.
No one with even a smidgin of common sense could disagree with Sir Tony when he says the Government should have concentrated all its efforts on economic growth. Instead, the focus went on side issues such as increasing the minimum wage, new workers’ rights and the demented rush to Net Zero.
In a critique running to more than 5,600 carefully chosen words, Tony Blair has delivered an indictment of Keir Starmer’s Government that is as devastating as it is comprehensive
Needless to say, Starmer has been told all this a thousand times before – not least by this newspaper. Perhaps he will finally pay attention given that it has now effectively been spelt out in block capitals by the most successful leader in his party’s history.
Regardless, Sir Tony’s intervention comes too late in the day to change Starmer’s political fate. Far worse than that, it also comes too late to reverse the untold damage inflicted on millions of hard-working Britons by Labour’s ill-conceived and poorly improvised policies.
The Right thing to do
The case grows stronger with each passing day for the parties of the Right to get their collective act together.
With polling day in the Makerfield by-election fast approaching, the unseemly war of words between Reform UK and Restore Britain is music to Andy Burnham’s ears. Meanwhile, the Labour leadership hopeful is now expecting to pick up votes from disgruntled Green Party supporters.
The threat could hardly be starker or more imminent. If Burnham wins the by-election, there is every possibility that he will be running a hard-Left government within months.
Yet with new analysis showing that England would have 23 more Right-wing councils if Reform and the Tories were prepared to form coalitions, there is still hope.
Everyone needs to see the bigger picture. Keeping Burnham away from Westminster and out of No 10 must be the priority. The Right agreeing to unite – and that means you, Rupert Lowe – offers the best prospect of achieving that goal.
