LONDON, May 28 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended his government on Thursday against criticism from Labour’s longest-serving premier, Tony Blair, saying his ministers had adopted the right policies to start stabilising Britain after a period of flux.
Blair, who led Labour to victory in three British elections between 1997 and 2007, took aim at Starmer and two potential rivals this week, in a more than 5,000 word essay calling on the governing party to focus on better policy decisions rather than personalities or knee-jerk responses to its declining fortunes.
Starmer, who is battling some of the worst popularity ratings of any leader, said while he welcomed debate on “policy and ideas”, he disagreed with Blair’s assessment of the government’s record almost two years into power.
“I don’t agree that the policy choices of this government weren’t the right policy choices, given what we inherited,” he told reporters.
“(It’s a) very different situation in 2024 to 1997; and dealing with what we had to turn around, the policy choices were vindicated by them, because those changes have happened,” Starmer said.
He listed better relations with the European Union, stabilising the economy and reducing waiting times for the country’s public health service as his government’s achievements, pressing home his oft-repeated message that he is not planning to step down despite calls from some in the party.
Blair’s comments have done little to settle emotions in Labour, with the two potential contenders to replace Starmer – Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and former health minister Wes Streeting – also rejecting his critique.
On Wednesday, Burnham and Streeting both said Blair had failed to grasp how inequality in Britain was driving new voting habits, such as the rising popularity of the populist Reform UK party and the left-leaning Green Party.
Since suffering large defeats in local elections and votes to the Scottish and Welsh assemblies earlier this month, Starmer has faced the biggest challenge yet to his authority, with dozens of Labour lawmakers calling on him to step aside.
He has pledged to fight on and prove his critics wrong by delivering the “change” he promised when Labour won a landslide election victory in 2024.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti and Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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