Burnham and Streeting Challenge Blair's View on Inequality
Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting have criticised former Labour Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair for underestimating the role of inequality in his recent critique of the Labour government.
In a 5,600-word essay, Sir Tony argued that the current Labour government lacks a "coherent plan" for the country and has implemented policies that have hindered business growth. He urged the party to avoid shifting leftward and instead embrace the "radical centre."
However, Burnham and Streeting, both seen as potential challengers to Sir Keir Starmer's leadership, suggested that Blair failed to acknowledge how inequality is influencing contemporary politics.
Burnham Highlights Omission of Inequality
Burnham, who is widely expected to contest the Labour leadership if he wins the upcoming by-election, told the Observer that Blair "doesn't mention inequality once" in his essay.
"If you don't get how that's driving politics now, if you are not rooting your analysis in the fact that people are unable to live and that things that were taken for granted are no longer affordable, then you are not understanding what's going on,"
said the Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Burnham is seeking to return to Parliament on 18 June in the Makerfield by-election, near Wigan, where he is expected to face a close contest with Reform UK's Robert Kenyon.
Streeting Emphasizes Inequality as Central Issue
Streeting, a former health secretary, has also indicated he would stand in a leadership contest, although Sir Keir has stated he does not intend to step down.
Writing in , Streeting described the "striking weakness" in Blair's intervention as the failure to confront the "defining issue of our age."
"Inequality - the economic, social and democratic fracture running through modern Britain - is treated as peripheral rather than fundamental.
But inequality, rather than being incidental to the crises reshaping western democracies, is actually their cause."
He added that resentment grows when people feel the rules "no longer reward effort fairly" and that the centre-left cannot counter populism simply with managerial competence or technological optimism.
Streeting further questioned whether the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution "will be governed in the interests of the many or captured by the privileged few."
Blair Responds to Criticism
In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sir Tony criticised Burnham's claim that Britain has been "on the wrong path for 40 years," a period that includes Blair's own decade in power from 1997 to 2007.
"I hope Andy wins Makerfield, I think he's a great guy, I want to see him in Parliament,"
said Blair.
"But you know, when he does this thing about 40 years of wasted… I mean, OK, and what, nothing good happened in that period of Thatcher with the business community, or New Labour?
I don't think he really means that."
Burnham, who served as a junior minister under Blair before being promoted to the cabinet by Gordon Brown, responded in his Observer interview:
"The last 40 years has given us wide inequality - that's what's responsible for the abandonment of the centre.
People don't think the centre has delivered for them in terms of their lives, therefore they've gone further to the extremes."
Blair Advocates for the Radical Centre
In his essay, Blair claims Labour suffers from a "perennial delusion – that when we lose seats to the right the country is really signalling it wants Labour to move left." He calls for the party to champion the "radical centre."
When asked if he considered himself left wing, Burnham told the Observer:
"If you want to call it left wing that's fine by me.
It's knowing where you need to take a more left solution and where you want to be pro-business.
Blairism sometimes saw the market as always the answer. That's its problem."
Blair's Views on Government Policies and Business
Blair expressed agreement with some government policies, including investment in infrastructure, planning system reform, and reducing trade friction with Europe, but cautioned that other commitments were "unwise to proceed with" given current economic conditions.
He pointed to new workers' rights laws, which have been criticised by some business groups for potentially discouraging hiring and hindering economic growth.
Blair also criticised the increase in National Insurance for employers, stating it had undermined business confidence.
Blair's Vision for Labour's Future
Setting out his vision, Blair said Labour must remove obstacles to business growth, address illegal immigration, and harness artificial intelligence.
Rebuttal from Torsten Bell
In a detailed response to Blair's essay, Torsten Bell, former head of the Resolution Foundation and current pensions minister, described it as an "impressive attempt to engage with some of the big forces shaping our future."
However, Bell argued that the essay "doesn't have a project that remotely fits the time and place we are living in."
"Saying 'AI' is not the same as having a plan for Britain,"
he added.
Blair on Funding and Donor Influence
During the BBC interview, Blair was questioned about the funding sources for his think tank, the Tony Blair Institute, and the influence of donors such as Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle.
Blair stated he was comfortable working with Ellison because "we share the same view about this technology revolution."
He explained that accepting funding from such individuals was "honestly to do with looking at the world and asking what the right answer is."
Makerfield By-Election Candidates
You can see a full list of the candidates standing in the Makerfield by-election here.
