Tony Blair says desire to 'punish' Tories led to Starmer's loveless landslide - as he warns the new Prime Minister he 'needs' immigration plan, must avoid 'wokeism' and has to handle Muslim 'challenge' with care
Tony Blair has said the British public's desire to 'punish' the Conservatives is what led to Labour's landslide election victory.
The former Prime Minister said that Sir Keir Starmer has turned Labour into a 'credible instrument of punishment' by being 'focused, determined and ruthlessly effective' during his rise to power.
The peer, who was the last person to lead Labour to a general election victory, has praised Starmer for refusing to make 'unrealisable promises' in his manifesto, calling it a 'blessing' that allows him leeway to act now he is in power.
However, the 71-year-old has also issued a warning to the former head of the CPS , saying he needs to create a new plan to deal with immigration, avoid 'wokeism' and handle the 'challenge' of the Muslim community.
Blair, who led Labour to three successive election victories in the late 90s and 2000s, has also urged Starmer to embrace artificial intelligence (AI), claiming it could be used to save billions in government and kick-start the economy.
Tony Blair speaks at the Global Energy Transition Congress and Exhibition in Milan, Italy, on July 1, 2024
Keir Starmer holds a press conference at Downing Street following his first cabinet meeting on July 6, 2024
Starmer led Labour to 412 seats in Thursday's general election, the highest number since Labour's landslide under Blair in 1997.
Blair said Starmer was helped by a large dislike for the Tories from the British public, writing in The Times: 'There was a huge desire not just to put the Conservative Party out, but to punish them. Labour was a credible instrument of punishment.'
He said that while the vote was split was lower than one might expect for a landslide victory, 'people voted for disparate parties knowing full well that doing so would give Labour a big majority' and the electorate 'deliberately' ignored warnings from the Conservatives about a supermajority.
Blair heaped praise on Starmer, saying he has a 'mandate' for change from the British public and that he has appointed 'exceptional talent' in his cabinet to help him see his vision turned into reality.
However, he has also warned that the new government faces similar challenges that proved to be the downfall of the Conservatives, including that from Reform UK which has 'pillaged the Tory vote' but also poses a risk to Labour.
'We need a plan to control immigration,' he said. 'If we don't have rules, we get prejudices. In office, I believed the best solution was a system of identity, so that we know precisely who has a right to be here. With, again, technology, we should move as the world is moving to digital ID. If not, new border controls will have to be highly effective.
He added: 'We need a tough new approach to law and order. At present, criminal elements are modernising faster than law enforcement.
'And the government should avoid any vulnerability on "wokeism".
'There is also clearly a challenge in part of the Muslim community, but that is a topic requiring its own special analysis.'
Tony Blair stands between Gordon Brown and Keir Starmer at St James's Palace in London ahead of the Accession Council ceremony in September 2022
Keir Starmer is applauded as he chairs his first cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in London on Saturday, July 6, 2024
Blair added that the UK is stuck in a cycle of high tax and high debt that provides poor outcomes, and that new methods have to be tried to kick start the economy.
These include making changes to the 'hopelessly slow and bureaucratic planning system' and tweaking the post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union, he argued.
The Labour grandee said that the solution to all these problems could lie within AI, which the new government should take advantage of to boost productivity and 'turbocharge' growth.
Blair said that using the technology, which has developed rapidly in recent years, could improve workforce efficiency in government, help deal with benefit fraud and save billions of pounds over the course of a decade.
He added that Labour's 'return to the centre-left' meant the party had gone back to a place of 'solutions, not ideology'.
His intervention comes as Keir Starmer released a clip of his first conversation with US President Joe Biden after he was elected Prime Minister.
The 81-year-old American premier said 'Mr Prime Minister, congratulations' in his first words to Starmer during a short call last night.
'What a hell of a victory! Congratulations,' he repeated as Sir Keir cracked a smile, leaning in to address Mr Biden through a telephone on a desk at Number 10.
'Thank you, Mr President. It's been a long night and day,' the Prime Minister said in something of an understatement, before expressing his thanks and plans to see Mr Biden in Washington next week.
'There is no doubt under your leadership, our two countries are going to continue our special relationship,' the President assured Sir Keir.
'We're working together on just about every issue: supporting Ukraine, managing the competition in China, advancing cooperation with AUKUS...'
'Firstly the special relationship is the bedrock for... our defence, our security and prosperity which is obviously central to our missions for government,' the Prime Minister said, rounding off the short clip with an assurance of continued relations with the United States under Joe Biden's presidency.
