Tony Blair on why Britain and Labour are in crisis
5/27/202633 min
Since Keir Starmer took office almost two years ago - the first Labour Prime Minister in 14 years - Tony Blair has been holding his tongue.
But that has all changed in a dramatic fashion. Blair is profoundly concerned, about the UK's future, the leadership of his party, and of the wider political conversation taking place.
In a 5,700 word essay, he lays out a brutal assessment of the lack of serious policy thinking going on in government, warns of a "slide towards relegation from the Premier League of nations", and pens what is effectively his own manifesto to try and turn the country's fortunes around.
Today on The News Agents - an in depth interview with the former PM. Why has he broken his silence now? What does he make of the leadership conversation taking place in Labour? And how does he believe Britain can halt its slide into irrelevance?
The News Agents is a Global Production.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJon Sopel· Host0:00
[digital music] This is a Global Player original podcast.
Tony Blair· Guest0:05
It didn't really matter what Donald Trump says in relation to Britain. The question is, what's the right answer for Britain?
Jon Sopel· Host0:10
So Ed Miliband is a quixotic fantasist.
Tony Blair· Guest0:14
Xi Jinping's not sitting there in Beijing saying, "I wonder what Ed Miliband thinks."
Jon Sopel· Host0:17
The person that Keir Starmer turned to to become a advisor was Gordon Brown.
Tony Blair· Guest0:23
Say to, to people in, in, in politics, the easy thing is to say yes. The hard thing is to say no. If we're gonna pursue clean energy and spend a lot of money doing it, there's got to be a pretty good reason, and there isn't one.
Jon Sopel· Host0:35
That is Tony Blair, who for the past two years has maintained a Trappist monk-like silence on British politics. Today, that changed. Born of frustration, anger, irritation, desperation, and depression about the state of the Labor Party, about the state of our politics. We have an extended interview with him. Welcome to "The News Agents." [upbeat music] "The News Agents." Well, we're joined on "The News Agents" now by Tony Blair, uh, him in Central London, uh, me in Central, uh, Sydney. Hmm. There we are. Now, Tony Blair, you've pointedly chosen to stay out of British politics for the past two years. What has changed?