𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Sir Tony Blair has slammed Labour and three of its key policies as he warned the party is “playing with fire”. In another blow to the beleaguered Sir Keir Starmer, Sir Tony took aim at the Government over a number of areas, including its Net Zero plans, failure to get a real grip on the small boats crisis and the burgeoning welfare bill.

The former Labour leader, who was prime minister between 1997 and 2007, said the UK “must prioritise cheaper energy and electrification over Net Zero” and reverse Ed Miliband’s ban on new oil and gas drilling licences. He called on the Government to do “whatever it takes” to stop small boats from crossing the English Channel, as Sir Keir’s promise to “smash the gangs” has so far failed to have a major impact. A total of 41,472 small boat migrants arrived in the UK in 2025 — the second-highest annual figure on record.

Sir Tony also criticised the Government’s increasing welfare budget and called on the triple lock on pensions to be reformed, warning it is “unaffordable long term”.

He said at the last Budget, it appeared as if Labour was “increasing tax to pay for additional welfare spending”.

He warned the public believes the welfare bill is already “too high”, adding: “Taken together, these measures have given headwinds, not tailwinds, to British business, despite the macroeconomic gains for which the Chancellor is rightly praised.

“At a minimum, the Government should try to limit the effect of the changes made and, as we have argued consistently, remove those parts of the net-zero agenda which prioritise clean energy over cheaper energy; and from now on make sure the actions match the words on growth.”

Welfare spending was forecast to rise by £18 billion to £333 billion in the 2025-26 financial year — more than the amount raised from income tax (£331 billion).

It is expected to increase by almost £20 billion in the next financial year.

In a 5,700-word essay, Sir Tony said: “The Labour Party is playing with fire; or, more accurately, with its future, and that of the country.”

Despite criticism of Sir Keir’s Government, he warned against forcing out the PM without having a proper policy agenda to follow him.

Sir Tony said: “The Government’s principal problem isn’t Keir’s personality. Or a failure to communicate ‘our achievements’. Or a need to assert more strongly Labour’s ‘values’.

“It is because we don’t have a worked out, coherent plan for the country in a fast-changing world and are in the wrong political position from which we can devise one and win a second term.

“The Government is governing from an essentially traditional Labour ‘soft left’ position, parked firmly in the party’s comfort zone.”

It comes as campaigning in Makerfield continues, with Andy Burnham hopeful of holding the seat for Labour in the by-election on June 18.

Mr Burnham is expected to challenge Sir Keir for the leadership if he wins the seat.

Sir Tony praised both Mr Burnham and Wes Streeting – another potential leadership challenger – in his essay.