Tony Blair’s recent conference on the “Future of Britain” marked his public embrace of Keir Starmer. Now considered a prime minister in waiting, Starmer is unlikely to tarnish the New Labour legacy. Blair inducted him in a short conversation in which, with due humility, he posed questions like a master to his apprentice. Starmer performed. Such encounters, though, are always more revealing than intended.
In his subsequent speech, Blair spoke with assured poise. He began with the “bad news” – “the British situation is perilous”. Aided by accompanying charts, the former prime minister referenced two defining challenges: making the state sustainable, and raising Britain’s growth and productivity. His message was clear and memorable.
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