By Claire Gordon • Published: 20 Jan 2022 • 19:07
Boris 'clueless' that Downing Street party was "against the rules"
Sir Tony Blair has come out swinging for the current government in his first speech since the backlash over his knighthood occurred. He said the UK is on course for a 1970s level of decline due to Boris Johnson and the Conservatives having no coherent plan for the country. The former prime minister without a complete overhaul of policy, Britain faces “a steady, inexorable compound decline, similar to the 1960s and 1970s”. Sir Tony stressed that this would be the case whether or not Johnson survives the current calls for him t resign over the “Partygate” scandal. “There is a gaping hole in the governing of Britain where new ideas should be,” Sir Tony said during a speech at Imperial College London on Thursday. “It needs a plan … At present, there isn’t one.” He also attacked the approach the government is taking towards Brexit and the deals being discussed with the EU now the UK has left the bloc. He said the desire to diverge from the EU had caused “substantial” economic damage. “We can alter our political and legal relationship with Europe, but we cannot change our interests or our geography,” he added. Sir Tony continued: “The government doesn’t have a post-Brexit regulatory strategy and it is letting passive divergence from EU rule exacerbate costs for businesses for no purpose, deepening an already substantial economic hit from Brexit itself.” The former prime minister said Brexit, the technological revolution and climate change present an unprecedented set of challenges that the government is “ill-prepared” to address and will lead to a 1970s level of decline. The former Labour leader praised Sir Keir Starmer said the party was “thankfully emerging with renewed vigour [and] a talented front bench” from “the catastrophe of the Corbyn era”. He also praised the economic plan set out by shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, saying it showed “a healthy desire to erase the memory of four successive defeats”, adding: “It could provide the plan the country needs. As Keir himself acknowledges, this is the challenge for 2022.”
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