BBC News

Labour has 'no coherent plan' for country, says former PM Blair

The Standard

Labour lacks coherent plan says Sir Tony Blair in essay critical of Government

Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

The Labour Party Is Playing With Fire Over Its Future and the Future of the Country

Huffington Post

Tony Blair Slams Labour For 'Playing With Fire' In Attack On Starmer And His Rivals

Guardian

Tony Blair tells Starmer and rivals: abandon net zero and move closer to Trump

The Telegraph

Blair Says Starmer Has No Plan For Britain

Metaculus

Will Starmer Leave Office In 2026

Sky News

Election results: Find out who won across the country

ShippersUnbound

yanisvaroufakis

AllisonPearson

Ben Riley-Smith

Goldman Sachs

KPMG

Naomi Smith

Robert Colvile

UK Trade & Business Commission

Sharon Graham

Office for Budget Responsibility

"Today's #GDP growth figures are still a long way from @Keir_Starmer's target of 2.5% and it is far from clear that we are heading in the right direction."

"Labour are promising to be the fastest-growing country in the G7. And our growth forecast is 2% or less every single year of this parliament? Yeah, good luck with that."

"The economy is expected to grow by just over 1 per cent this year, rising to 2 per cent in 2025."

Research shows that "deep alignment with the EU on goods and services will deliver 2.2% economic growth to the UK."

"Closer ties with the EU could deliver growth of up to 2.2%. Clawing back up to half the damage caused by Brexit."

Will the UK Economy Grow By 2% GDP In a Year Under Labour?

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who won three general elections as Labour leader before stepping down in 2007, accused the Labour government of lacking a "coherent plan" as part of an essay published on Tuesday.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who won three general elections as Labour leader before stepping down in 2007, accused the Labour government of lacking a "coherent plan" as part of an essay published on Tuesday.

Following local election losses across the U.K., <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.verity.news/story/2026/starmer-refuses-to-quit-amid-labour-revolt">triggering government resignations</a> and calls from some Labour MPs for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign, the nearly 5,700-word essay argued the party needed a "fundamental reset" if it was to prevail at the next general election.

Following local election losses across the U.K., triggering government resignations and calls from some Labour MPs for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign, the nearly 5,700-word essay argued the party needed a "fundamental reset" if it was to prevail at the next general election.

"The government's principal problem isn't Keir's personality. Or a failure to communicate 'our achievements.' Or a need to assert more strongly Labour's 'values,'" Blair said. "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."

"The government's principal problem isn't Keir's personality. Or a failure to communicate 'our achievements.' Or a need to assert more strongly Labour's 'values,'" Blair said. "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."

Blair criticized a number of policies enacted during the current Labour government — including the rise in National Insurance, new workers' rights, net-zero and the phasing out Britain's oil and gas industry — describing the moves as undermining business confidence and giving "headwinds not tailwinds" to the private sector.

Blair criticized a number of policies enacted during the current Labour government — including the rise in National Insurance, new workers' rights, net-zero and the phasing out Britain's oil and gas industry — describing the moves as undermining business confidence and giving "headwinds not tailwinds" to the private sector.

He argued that for Labour to be successful, it needs to define a vision for the country and should not look to move to the left or the right, but take up the mantle of the "radical center." He laid out 10 agenda points that the party could follow, with an embrace of AI, planning reform and deregulation, as well as a pursuit of cheap energy topping the list.

He argued that for Labour to be successful, it needs to define a vision for the country and should not look to move to the left or the right, but take up the mantle of the "radical center." He laid out 10 agenda points that the party could follow, with an embrace of AI, planning reform and deregulation, as well as a pursuit of cheap energy topping the list.

"Without an agenda of this nature, radical but sensible, Britain will continue its long slide towards relegation from the Premier League of nations," the former leader said.

"Without an agenda of this nature, radical but sensible, Britain will continue its long slide towards relegation from the Premier League of nations," the former leader said.

BBC News #

The Standard #

Tony Blair Institute for Global Change #

Huffington Post #

Guardian #5688

The Telegraph #

Metaculus #

Sky News #

Former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, who as Labour Party leader secured three election wins before stepping down in 2007, launched a wide-ranging critique of the current Labour government in an essay published on Tuesday.

Former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, who as Labour Party leader secured three election wins before stepping down in 2007, launched a wide-ranging critique of the current Labour government in an essay published on Tuesday.

Coming off the back of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.verity.news/story/2026/reform-uk-surges-labour-routed-in-england-elections">disappointing local election results for Labour</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.verity.news/story/2026/starmer-refuses-to-quit-amid-labour-revolt">triggering a wave of resignations</a> and calls for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to resign, the nearly 5,700-word essay argued the party needed a "fundamental reset" if it was to prevail at the next general election.

Coming off the back of disappointing local election results for Labour, triggering a wave of resignations and calls for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to resign, the nearly 5,700-word essay argued the party needed a "fundamental reset" if it was to prevail at the next general election.

Blair took aim at number of policies enacted during the current Labour government — including the rise in National Insurance, the new workers' rights, the net-zero agenda and the phasing out Britain's oil and gas industry — describing the moves as undermining business confidence and giving "headwinds not tailwinds" to the private sphere.

Blair took aim at number of policies enacted during the current Labour government — including the rise in National Insurance, the new workers' rights, the net-zero agenda and the phasing out Britain's oil and gas industry — describing the moves as undermining business confidence and giving "headwinds not tailwinds" to the private sphere.

Blair's intervention is deeply unhelpful. Not only does he criticize the government's biggest accomplishments, he suggests moving closer to Trump while recommending ditching responsible climate policies in pursuit of cheap energy. All in all, it shows just how out of touch the former prime minister is.

Blair's intervention is deeply unhelpful. Not only does he criticize the government's biggest accomplishments, he suggests moving closer to Trump while recommending ditching responsible climate policies in pursuit of cheap energy. All in all, it shows just how out of touch the former prime minister is.

Blair has said the obvious: that Starmer has no plan for Britain. The former prime minister also rightly pointed out that the country cannot expect to grow its GDP while pursuing a range of policies the hobble businesses. He also made the obvious point that Britain was wrong to leave its biggest ally in the U.S. in the lurch on Iran. This is further embarrassment for Labour.

Blair has said the obvious: that Starmer has no plan for Britain. The former prime minister also rightly pointed out that the country cannot expect to grow its GDP while pursuing a range of policies the hobble businesses. He also made the obvious point that Britain was wrong to leave its biggest ally in the U.S. in the lurch on Iran. This is further embarrassment for Labour.

There's an 84% chance that Keir Starmer will cease to be Prime Minister of the U.K. during 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

There's an 84% chance that Keir Starmer will cease to be Prime Minister of the U.K. during 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Starmer Leadership Crisis

Brexit: A History of UK-EU Relations

UK: Tony Blair Says Labour Needs 'Fundamental Reset'

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

UK: Tony Blair Says Labour Needs 'Fundamental Reset'

United Kingdom

Politics

Governance

Blair's intervention is deeply unhelpful. Not only does he criticize the government's biggest accomplishments, he suggests moving closer to Trump whilst recommending ditching responsible climate policies in pursuit of cheap energy. This is yet another reminder that, despite his sense of self-importance, Blair remains out of touch with Britain's modern challenges.

Blair's intervention is deeply unhelpful. Not only does he criticize the government's biggest accomplishments, he suggests moving closer to Trump whilst recommending ditching responsible climate policies in pursuit of cheap energy. This is yet another reminder that, despite his sense of self-importance, Blair remains out of touch with Britain's modern challenges.

Yanis Varoufakis

Blair has said the obvious: that Starmer has no plan for Britain. The former prime minister also rightly pointed out that the country cannot expect to grow its GDP while pursuing a range of policies the hobble businesses. He also made the obvious point that Britain was wrong to leave its biggest ally in the U.S. in the lurch on Iran. This is further embarrassment for Starmer.

Blair has said the obvious: that Starmer has no plan for Britain. The former prime minister also rightly pointed out that the country cannot expect to grow its GDP while pursuing a range of policies the hobble businesses. He also made the obvious point that Britain was wrong to leave its biggest ally in the U.S. in the lurch on Iran. This is further embarrassment for Starmer.

UK: Former PM Tony Blair Says Labour Needs 'Fundamental Reset'

UK: Former PM Tony Blair Says Labour Needs 'Fundamental Reset'

The Spin

Metaculus Prediction

The Controversies

Graham

Colvile

Responsibility

Commission

Smith

Go Deeper

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters

UK: Former PM Tony Blair Says Labour Needs 'Fundamental Reset'

UK: Former PM Tony Blair Says Labour Needs 'Fundamental Reset'

The Spin

Metaculus Prediction

The Controversies

Graham

Colvile

Responsibility

Commission

Smith

Go Deeper

Sign Up for Our Free NewslettersSign Up for Our Free Newsletters

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters