London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Tony Blair says Labour has ‘recovered’ as he dismisses need for new party

Tony Blair says Labour has ‘recovered’ as he dismisses need for new party

Keir Starmer ‘doing an amazing job’ but voters still confused about what party stands for, says former PM
Tony Blair has dismissed the need for a new political party, saying Labour has “recovered” under Keir Starmer but needs a clearer sense of direction to win the next general election.

After a mixed few weeks for Labour, with MPs raising concerns about Starmer’s appeal but the party managing to retake the “red wall” seat of Wakefield in a byelection, Blair said the leadership needed to come forward with appealing new policies.

Although Blair said Starmer was “doing an amazing job, given what he inherited after the Corbyn years”, he cautioned there was still confusion among voters about what the party under him stood for.

Speaking ahead of a conference hosted by his institute, the former prime minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The Labour party itself is saying: ‘We’re going to set out a policy agenda later this year and into next,’ and in a way, this conference, I mean the ideas we’re putting forward are available for anybody.

“The next election, in my view, will be as much about Labour as it is about the Conservatives, because I think people will think: ‘Yeah, OK, in principle, we should put the Conservatives out.’ But before they make that change, they’ve got to be sure of Labour.”

Blair believed Starmer was “entirely capable of doing that”, but added: “We’ve got to be absolutely frank with ourselves. If we want to win, it’s going to be on the basis that people are absolutely clear what Labour is and what it stands for.”

A longstanding critic of Starmer’s predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, Blair said he had been approached in the past about “whether they should start a new party”, but said: “I was not involved in creating a new party.”

If Labour had continued under the leadership of someone on the “Corbyn wing” of the party, Blair said that “British politics would have had to have broken up in some way”. But he dismissed the need for a new party given Starmer’s record so far.

“I think the Labour party has recovered its basic poise and clarity,” Blair said. “To be fair to Starmer, when you think of what he inherited, what he’s done, I think he’s made an enormous amount of progress.”

Blair said there was appetite in the west for a radical but sensible centrist politics, citing the election of Joe Biden in the US, Emmanuel Macron in France, and of the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

He said: “My view of the Labour party is the centre-left modern progressive political party at the next election, and that is clear to people with a forward-looking agenda. [Starmer] has got every chance of winning.”

Labour was buoyed last week by the reclaiming of the long-held Labour seat of Wakefield, which they took back from the Conservatives in a sign the party is making inroads into the former heartlands that crumbled at the 2019 election.

Talk of Tory MPs seeking to defect to Labour has also boosted spirits in the party.

However, Starmer has faced a difficult few weeks given the pushback for banning frontbenchers from joining picket lines during rail strikes.

He had to tell his shadow cabinet to stop calling him boring, after a string of negative briefings.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×