Should Labour heed Tony Blair?

Tony Blair’s lengthy – and excoriating – 5,600-word essay on the future of the Labour Party and Britain has set Westminster alight this week. The former prime minister's critique has sparked a lively debate, and triggered robust responses from Labour leadership hopefuls Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting. But is Blair right in some of his criticism? Host Lucy Fisher unpacks the article with FT colleagues Robert Shrimsley, Anna Gross and Stephen Bush. They also examine Rupert Lowe, the personality behind the far-right party Restore Britain, and whether it can harm Reform UK by splitting the rightwing vote. Follow: Lucy @LOS_Fisher or @ lucyfisher.ft.com Want more? Tony Blair criticises Labour’s Andy Burnham for leftwing ‘delusion’ Tony Blair ‘does not understand’ role of inequality in politics, Andy Burnham says Labour’s retreat from intellectual debate traps it in comfort zone Turning Neets into engineers Britain’s expanding ‘lost generation’ UK risks ‘lost generation’ without more jobs for young people Nigel Farage loses viral touch to Musk-backed Rupert Lowe Senior Reform UK figures clash over immigration plans You can also sign up here for Stephen Bush’s morning newsletter Inside Politics for straight-talking insight into the stories that matter, plus puns and tongue (mostly) in cheek views. Get 30 days free. Political Fix was presented by Lucy Fisher and produced by Persis Love. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound engineering by Breen Turner. The broadcast engineers are Andrew Georgiades and Petros Gioumpasis. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Should Labour heed Tony Blair? is an episode from FT Politics by Financial Times.

This episode is 38:57 long.

This episode was published on May 29, 2026.

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