New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Politics
  2. UK Politics
27 April 2017

Tony Blair won’t endorse the Labour leader – Jeremy Corbyn’s fans are celebrating

The thrice-elected Prime Minister is no fan of the new Labour leader. 

By Julia Rampen

Labour heavyweights usually support each other – at least in public. But the former Prime Minister Tony Blair couldn’t bring himself to do so when asked on Sky News.

He dodged the question of whether the current Labour leader was the best person to lead the country, instead urging voters not to give Theresa May a “blank cheque”. 

If this seems shocking, it’s worth remembering that Corbyn refused to say whether he would pick “Trotskyism or Blairism” during the Labour leadership campaign. Corbyn was after all behind the Stop the War Coalition, which opposed Blair’s decision to join the invasion of Iraq. 

For some Corbyn supporters, it seems that there couldn’t be a greater boon than the thrice-elected PM witholding his endorsement in a critical general election. 

Content from our partners
The Circular Economy: Green growth, jobs and resilience
Water security: is it a government priority?
Defend, deter, protect: the critical capabilities we rely on