Tony Blair criticises Labour’s Andy Burnham for leftwing ‘delusion’

Sir Tony Blair has issued a veiled attack on Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, saying it is a “delusion” that British voters want the Labour Party to shift further to the left.

Blair, Labour’s most electorally successful prime minister, said the leadership debate engulfing his party had “an extraordinarily retro 20th-century feel to it” and amounted to “playing with fire” with the UK’s future.

The clear target of his intervention was Burnham, who is seeking to return to parliament and is expected to challenge Sir Keir Starmer in a bid to take over as UK prime minister this year.

Starmer’s premiership has been in the balance since devastating local and devolved election results earlier this month.

Burnham has sought to capitalise on Labour MPs’ and members’ desire for greater radicalism, criticising “neoliberalism” and “40 years of trickle-down economics that did not, in the end, trickle down very much at all”. Blair’s decade-long premiership ended 19 years ago.

In a 5,600-word essay, focused on the challenges posed by AI and a fast-changing global order, Blair said Labour’s fundamental problem was that “we don’t have a worked out, coherent plan for the country”.

“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,” he said.

Blair cautioned that Labour was at risk of indulging a “perennial delusion that when we lose seats to the right the country is really signalling it wants Labour to move left”. It would be “dangerous” to pursue higher taxes and spending, he added.

Despite winning three general elections, Blair’s influence within Labour has diminished greatly in recent years. He is ideologically close to Wes Streeting, the centrist former health secretary, who has committed to stand if there is a leadership election but, according to polls, would lose to Burnham by a wide margin.

Yet the former prime minister also appeared to rebuke two policies advanced by Streeting — rejoining the EU and equalising capital gains and income tax — stressing that he disagreed with the former, while warning the second proposal had been “rejected by successive governments for good reason”.

Blair softened his criticism by insisting that Burnham “was an outstanding member of my government” and Streeting “is a huge political talent”. Burnham has had a long political relationship with Gordon Brown, Blair’s chancellor and rival who forced him out of Downing Street.

Burnham’s team declined to comment and Streeting’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.