A scathing essay by the former prime minister rehashes assumptions that underpinned his own rise to power. But the challenges are quite different now
A paradox lies at the heart of Sir Tony Blair’s latest sermon to a Labour party that he seems actively to dislike these days. The 5,700-word intervention, published on the website of his Institute for Global Change, emphasises the sheer novelty of challenges such as the AI revolution and the rise of insurgent populism in western democracies. Yet the advice he offers is based on assumptions unchanged since he was bashing “old Labour” in the 1990s.
In his essay, Sir Tony suggests that Labour’s “infinite capacity for self-delusion” is set to lose it the next election, irrespective of who is leading the party and the country by then. Only if it embodies a “radical centre”, he argues, can the government deliver the rises in growth and productivity that Britain desperately needs. This, it turns out, means rejecting more or less any policy that
Technology secretary promises to support people whose jobs are swept away by automation
Liz Kendall has insisted Labour will make artificial intelligence “work for workers”, and not abandon people whose jobs are swept away by its rapid advance.
With public fears mounting about the impact of AI on employment, particularly for young people, the technology secretary claimed that the government could shape the way it is adopted.
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Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has raised $9.4 million from two cryptocurrency billionaires in the first quarter of 2026, helping it collect more donations than either Labour or the Conservative Party. According to newly released UK political donation records, crypto…
The former PM’s essay rightly calls for a coherent economic plan, but then sets too much store by AI – and a worldview stuck in the past
Tony Blair is right. Labour has made some big and avoidable mistakes since it came to power nearly two years ago. Keir Starmer had a strategy for winning the election but lacked a coherent plan for what his government would do next. Fair cop.
Blair is also correct when he says that unless Britain tackles some long-term structural issues, it is in danger of being relegated from the “premier league of nations”. Achieving higher levels of sustainable growth is one challenge. Welfare reform is another. And as the former prime minister notes, reversing Brexit is not a solution to those problems.
Larry Elliott is a Guardian columnist
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London mayor accused of ‘putting politics above public safety’ for rejecting deal to use AI in intelligence analysis
Palantir has accused Sadiq Khan of “putting politics above public safety” after the London mayor blocked its £50m contract with the Metropolitan police in a move that has also led to tensions inside Labour over its involvement with the US tech company.
Louis Mosley, who heads Palantir in the UK and Europe, accused Khan of politicising procurement after he rejected a two-year deal for Scotland Yard to use AI to process intelligence in criminal investigations, as first revealed by the Guardian. Mosley said: “What Londoners value is not being mugged, not being raped by a serving police officer.”
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GBP/USD fell 0.9% on Thursday, breaking below 1.3500 in a sharp staircase decline from session highs to a low close to 1.3395. The move extended a multi-week downtrend from the early-March peak, with bearish momentum building through the European afternoon. The daily candle closed near session lows. The Pound Sterling came under heavy pressure on Thursday as the political crisis around Prime Minister Keir Starmer deepened. After Labour’s heavy losses in the 7 May local elections, four cabinet ministers resigned this week, including Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips, and close to 100 Labour MPs publicly called on Starmer to resign or set a departure timeline. Health Secretary Wes Streeting was reported to be weighing a leadership challenge, although Starmer remained defiant after 111 MPs signed a statement of support. Stronger UK data failed to lift the currency: Q1
