Sir Tony Blair tells Labour to ‘show no complacency’ in surprise visit

Sir Tony Blair has been known to give private advice to Sir Keir Starmer during his leadership - STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PA

Sir Tony Blair has told Labour staffers to show “no complacency” in the final week of the election campaign during a surprise visit to party headquarters.

The former Labour leader gave a five-minute pep talk on Thursday afternoon to campaign figures.

Sir Tony is understood to have said that there is “no point being in politics” unless you deliver “change”, in a message about the importance of regaining office.

He said Sir Keir Starmer, the current Labour leader, has pulled the party back from the edge of “extinction”, in a reference to the impact of the Left-wing Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Three Labour sources confirmed the accuracy of the remarks to The Telegraph.

Sir Tony addressed around 100 people in the room at Labour Party’s headquarters in Southwark, South London, with more dialled in remotely.

His presence underlines his rehabilitation in Labour. Sir Tony was kept at a distance by Ed Miliband when leader and criticised by Mr Corbyn but feeds in private advice for Sir Keir’s Labour project.

Since taking over the leadership in 2020 Sir Keir has defended the New Labour record in office. He has also aped Sir Tony’s approach of reaching for the centre ground.

Sir Keir now often talks about the “changed Labour Party”, echoing his predecessor’s “New Labour” mantra.

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One Labour source present for Sir Tony’s speech told this newspaper: “It felt like a passing of the baton in a weird way.”

On what was said, the source added: “It was about showing no complacency. ‘You’ve got into this position because you’ve changed the Labour Party. You’re doing everything you can to change the country.’

“He spoke about the difference between power and opposition. He spoke about how there’s no point to being in politics other than to change lives.”

Sir Tony has not featured publicly in the election campaign, either by appearing at high profile events, giving interviews or writing pieces about the party.

Sir Keir signalled his embrace of Sir Tony and his New Labour legacy earlier this year when they appeared together on stage at an event.

He has previously said that he has consulted with Sir Tony, as well as other past Labour leaders such as Gordon Brown and Lord Kinnock, during his leadership.

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