Friday 1 July 2022 11:03 AM Tony Blair tells Keir Starmer to distance Labour from supporting 'summer of ... trends now

Friday 1 July 2022 11:03 AM Tony Blair tells Keir Starmer to distance Labour from supporting 'summer of ... trends now
Friday 1 July 2022 11:03 AM Tony Blair tells Keir Starmer to distance Labour from supporting 'summer of ... trends now

Friday 1 July 2022 11:03 AM Tony Blair tells Keir Starmer to distance Labour from supporting 'summer of ... trends now

Sir Tony Blair has reignited Labour's internal row over public sector pay as he urged the party to distance itself from widespread strike action by workers.

The former prime minister warned Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer it would be 'very damaging' for the party to support a wave of public sector strikes, which he insisted Britain 'can't afford' at the moment.

Following last week's national rail strikes, there are growing fears of a 'summer of discontent' with mass walkouts also being planned by teachers, doctors, firefighters, Royal Mail workers and BT staff.

Sir Keir has faced fury from Labour's trade union backers for failing to wholeheartedly back workers taking strike action, as they demand large pay rises during the cost-of-living crisis.

The Labour leader also caused anger with his decision to ban his party's frontbenchers from joining picket lines in support of striking rail workers.

And he has opened the door to another Labour row after signalling he could support below-inflation pay rises for the public sector. 

But Sir Tony, who led Labour between 1994 and 2007, insisted Sir Keir was right not to bow to 'huge pressure' to support widespread industrial action.

The former Labour premier's intervention attracted an immediate backlash from the party's left-wing, who have been furious at Sir Keir's reluctance to support strikes.

Angry Labour members told Sir Tony, who made a multi-million pound fortune after leaving Number 10, that he 'stands for the few, not the many'.

Sir Tony Blair, who led Labour between 1994 and 2007, insisted Sir Keir Starmer was right not to bow to 'huge pressure' to support widespread industrial action

Sir Tony Blair, who led Labour between 1994 and 2007, insisted Sir Keir Starmer was right not to bow to 'huge pressure' to support widespread industrial action

The Labour leader caused anger with his decision to ban his party's frontbenchers from joining picket lines in support of striking rail workers

The Labour leader caused anger with his decision to ban his party's frontbenchers from joining picket lines in support of striking rail workers

Following last week's national rail strikes, there are growing fears of a 'summer of discontent' with mass walkouts also being planned by teachers, doctors, firefighters, Royal Mail workers and BT staff

Following last week's national rail strikes, there are growing fears of a 'summer of discontent' with mass walkouts also being planned by teachers, doctors, firefighters, Royal Mail workers and BT staff

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Sir Tony - who held a 'Blairfest' conference in London yesterday - warned Sir Keir that he could not be seen to be supporting

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