UK’s standing has diminished and Starmer faces ‘anxious’ mood in country – Blair

Former Labour prime minister Sir Tony Blair contrasted the optimism of his first election victory with the ‘very different’ mood in the country now.

Sir Tony Blair (left) and Sir Keir Starmer discussing politics (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Archive)

Britain’s standing in the world has diminished over the last decade and Sir Keir Starmer has come to power at a time of “anxiety” for the nation, Sir Tony Blair has said of his Labour successor as prime minister.

The ex-PM’s warning comes after Sir Keir claimed “things will get worse before they get better” in a speech ahead of what he said would be a “painful” Budget statement on October 30.

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan due to be broadcast on Wednesday night, Sir Tony – the last Labour leader who won a general election – was asked if he thought the new Prime Minister had a “mandate” to govern, or if his majority in this summer’s poll was due more to apathy with the Tories.

“Yeah, I think he’s got a mandate, of course. I mean, I think what you’re saying, not in these words, is that the zeitgeist is different,” Sir Tony replied.

The former prime minister claimed there was a “pretty optimistic” spirit across the country when he came to power at the turn of the millennium, as he attempted to “lead the change” on racial and sex equality, as well as devolution.

In contrast, he described the mood in the UK today facing Sir Keir’s Government as “very different”, adding: “I think it’s more anxious. But it’s still a zeitgeist. And I think in the new Government coming in and people wanting a sense of stability, wanting long-term problems solved and sorted out, you know… for sure there’s a mandate there.”

Elsewhere during the interview, Sir Tony was asked to describe Britain’s standing in the world compared with 20 years ago when he was prime minister.

Sir Tony replied that his foreign policy was “based on three pillars” of being the US’s “strongest ally”, a “key” player in Europe, and the now-scrapped Department for International Development.

He added: “The truth of the matter is we are weaker on all three now. I mean, Department of International Development is gone. Its budget’s been cut. We’re out of Europe, obviously. So we are no longer key players there.

“Are we America’s strongest ally? Well, that’s the question today. I mean, I think that our security and military still have a very, very close relationship, but politically, a lot more open to question.”

During the interview, Sir Tony was also asked about his views on immigration policy, extremism, and claimed the Vladimir Putin he knew while serving as PM “would never have engaged in such a folly as Ukraine”.

Sir Keir set a sober tone ahead of Parliament’s return from the summer recess, in a speech where he warned that the Government’s forthcoming Budget will be “painful” as he asked the country to “accept short-term pain for long-term good”.

He also said there was a need to be “honest with people about the choices that we face”.

In a phrase which somewhat echoed the pop song Things Can Only Get Better by D:Ream, used by Sir Tony’s New Labour in their 1997 election campaign, Sir Keir added: “How tough this will be and, frankly, things will get worse before they get better.”