Former UK Prime Minister Blair Says Starmer Government Lacks Coherent Plan for Britain

Sir Tony Blair has accused Sir Keir Starmer's government of having no "coherent plan" for the country and introducing policies that have held back business. In a highly critical essay, the former Labour prime minister singled out measures including new workers' rights laws, the phasing out of the British oil and gas industry and the above-inflation uplift to the minimum wage. However, he warned that whether there was a change of leader was "irrelevant if it doesn't start with a policy debate".

Blair's Core Criticism

Sir Tony said the government's "principal problem" was not "Keir's personality" or "a failure to communicate 'our achievements'", which have often been pointed to as weaknesses of the prime minister. He wrote: "It is because we don't have a worked-out coherent plan for the country in a fast-changing world and are in the wrong political position from which we can devise one and win a second term". However, he added: "Trying to force the prime minister out before we know what policy direction we're bringing in, is not a serious way of conducting ourselves."

While Sir Tony said he agreed with some of the government's policies, including investment in infrastructure, reform of the planning system and reducing trade friction with Europe, the former prime minister said other commitments were "unwise to proceed with" given the current economic circumstances. He pointed to new workers' rights laws, which have faced criticism from some business groups who argue they will discourage companies from hiring and hit economic growth. Sir Tony also criticised the decision to increase National Insurance for employers, which he said had undermined business confidence.

Economic and Business Impact

"Then, in the last Budget, it appeared as if we were increasing tax to pay for additional welfare spending, when the public already thinks welfare bills are too high," Sir Tony said. "Taken together, these measures have given headwinds not tailwinds to British business despite the macroeconomic gains for which the chancellor is rightly praised."

He called on the government to try and limit the effect of these changes and remove parts of the net-zero agenda "which prioritise clean energy over cheaper energy". On the United Kingdom's relationship with the European Union, Sir Tony said "Britain has lost from Brexit" and "at some point it is ripe to enter a debate about 'going back'."

Leadership and Policy Context

The essay of more than 5,600 words is Sir Tony's first in-depth critique of Sir Keir's government. It comes as the prime minister is under severe pressure, following a disastrous set of election results earlier this month and five ministerial resignations, with a leadership challenge widely expected. Downing Street declined to comment on the essay, but said Sir Keir was "fully focussed on delivering change for working people". A spokeswoman pointed to measures aimed at easing the cost of living, with the economy growing before the Iran conflict broke out, as well as falling National Health Service waiting lists, migration and serious violent crime. She added: "But there's obviously much more to do, and we are getting on with that job."

Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary earlier this month in protest at Sir Keir's leadership and has confirmed he would stand in any contest, recently argued that the United Kingdom should rejoin the European Union one day. However, Sir Tony said: "Just as Brexit was never the answer to Britain's challenges back in 2016, reversing it isn't the answer to the country's far worse situation in 2026." He added: "If we want to go back into some sort of structured relationship with Europe, we can only do so from a position of economic strength."

Blair's Vision for Change

Setting out his own vision for change, Sir Tony said Labour must become the "Radical Centre", putting "policy first and politics last".

Context

The essay follows a pattern of former Labour leaders publicly critiquing incumbent governments. In 2019, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown published a detailed intervention on economic policy during the Brexit negotiations, and in 2023, Sir Tony Blair issued a series of reports on technology and governance that indirectly criticised the Conservative government's lack of strategic planning.