Treasury ministers hit back at Blair over claims on tax and energy – UK politics live
Tony Blair has published a lengthy essay critiquing the current Labour leadership and urging a return to the political center. He warns that the party risks losing the next election due to its departure from centrist policies. In response, government officials have accused Blair of reviving outdated debates and failing to recognize the current political landscape.
- ▪Labour is currently engaged in a leadership contest, with key figures like Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting actively involved.
- ▪Tony Blair's essay criticizes the Labour leadership for abandoning the center ground and warns of potential electoral losses.
- ▪Government representatives have pushed back against Blair's arguments, suggesting that the political context has significantly changed since his time in office.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
13m ago03.53 EDTGood morning. Labour is in the midst of ‘phoney war’ leadership contest. The formal bit has not started yet, but Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting are already actively engaged, Angela Rayner is taking an interest, and Keir Starmer is defending his legacy with renewed vigour. The last thing anyone expected was for Tony Blair to join in.But he has, sort of, with a 5,700-word essay, published last night on his thinktank’s website, setting out where the former PM thinks his part is going wrong (on most things, it seems) and what he thinks it should do next. Blair, of course, won’t be a candidate in the leadership contest, but ideas matter in politics and this essay is chock-full of them.Here is Jessica Elgot’s story on what he says.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at World news | The Guardian.
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