During his successful 2020 leadership campaign Keir Starmer claimed he was his own man, saying, ‘I can think for myself, I don’t need to hug Jeremy Corbyn, I don’t need to hug Tony Blair or anybody else to make a decision.’ Having kicked Corbyn out of the parliamentary Labour party, Starmer is unlikely to seek or indeed receive many hugs from his immediate predecessor. Starmer has, however, increasingly and pretty blatantly sought to evoke comparisons between himself and Blair, the last Labour leader to win a general election. Recently Starmer even shared a platform with Blair at the latter’s Foundation for Global Change’s ‘Future of Britain’ conference, dubbed ‘Blairstock’ by wits. There are sound reasons for all this – but the Labour leader should be cautious of being enveloped by the undoubtedly warm and welcoming Blairite embrace.
Many of Blair’s achievements in government were superficial and easily swept away after 2010
Blair led his party to three general election victories and served as prime minister for longer than any other Labour leader.
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