Diane Abbott says Corbyn will win as independent
Labour’s former Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott has blasted Tony Blair as an “utter failure” after he delivered a warning to Sir Keir Starmer.
Sir Tony came out this morning to tell the Labour Party it cannot hope to tax and spend its way out of economic turmoil, unlike him in 1997.
The last PM to win a general election for Labour said the Tories have “taxed and spent to the point [of]… economic crisis” and warned Sir Keir Starmer he is facing an even gloomier situation that left for him by Sir John Major 26 years ago.
He said that in lieu of tax and spending changes, the Labour Party must focus on “understanding, mastering, harnessing the technological revolution – everything else is secondary to that”.
Sir Tony also told the Financial Times it is a “shocking indictment” that he remains the only Labour leader born in the last century to win a general election.
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He said: “I’m afraid it has not been a successful political project… I didn’t give up on Labour.
“But I think the Labour Party would have been finished if we had carried on under Corbyn.”
Sir Tony’s attack on Jeremy Corbyn swiftly prompted return fire from one of his closest allies, Diane Abbott.
Ms Abbott said his interview “is a very clear indication of the utter failure of Blairism”.
“My policies work only if I inherit a growing economy. Otherwise, I have no answers.”
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The Corbynite activist and pressure group Momentum added that Sir Tony “is morally disgraced and politically toxic”.
Other social media users pointed out that Tony Blair’s characterisation of the economy left by John Major was “completely wrong”, with Sir John leaving a “booming economy”.
Sir Tony also told the FT that he meets with Sir Keir Starmer “reasonably frequently” and said his critics who said his current policy offering is too bland are talking “nonsense”.
Surprisingly he delivered some limited praise of Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s former chief of staff, who also desired to reform the civil service.
Sir Tony said the civil service has to be completely overhauled to reflect the coming change.
He added: “Some of what [Cummings] says is sensible. Some I totally disagree with”.
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