Much of what Blair said in essay criticising Labour was wrong, says Starmer – UK politics live

Keir Starmer and former PM Tony Blair. Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/Kirsty O´Connor/PAKeir Starmer and former PM Tony Blair. Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/Kirsty O´Connor/PAShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureFrom 24m agoStarmer say he thinks 'much' of what Blair had to say about his record yesterday was wrongKeir Starmer has said that “much” of what Tony Blair said in his 5,700-word essay yesterday criticising the record of the government was wrong.During a visit to a train depot in west London, Starmer was asked by a reporter how he felt about being criticised by Labour’s most successful prime minister.Starmer started with a compliment for his predecessor.

double quotation markLet me start with where I agree with Tony Blair.

I agree with him, that we should be having a discussion about policy and ideas, and that’s what generates politics. That’s where the focus should be. So Tony is right about that.

But then Starmer, who seemed to be enjoying the chance to hit back, then went on to say he thought Blair was mostly wrong. He said:

double quotation markYou won’t be surprised to know that I don’t agree with much what Tony says about what the government is doing.