Far left to blame for Labour’s most recent defeats, Tony Blair suggests

Labour needs “total deconstruction and reconstruction” in order to revive as a party amid the “major setback” of last week’s election defeats, ex-leader Tony Blair has warned.

In a frank assessment of the party’s leadership, Blair also said that leader Sir Keir Starmer lacked a compelling economic message and was “struggling to break through with the public”.

The former prime minister’s intervention comes after deputy leader Angela Rayner said voters did not know what Labour stood for at the most recent election.