Since he urged the party to distance itself from the widespread worker strikes, Sir Tony Blair has reignited the internal dispute within Labour over public sector pay.
The former prime minister stressed that Britain “can’t afford” at the moment a wave of public sector strikes and warned Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer that doing so would be “very damaging.”
Following last week’s nationwide rail strikes, there are growing concerns about a “summer of discontent” as teachers, doctors, firefighters, Royal Mail employees, and BT employees all plan large-scale walkouts.
In response to workers’ call for significant wage increases during the current cost-of-living crisis, Sir Keir has come under fire from Labour’s trade union supporters for his lack of unwavering support for their right to strike.
The Labour leader incited ire by forbidding the frontbenchers of his party from joining picket lines in support of rail employees who were on strike.
Additionally, by indicating that he might be in favor of public sector pay increases that are below inflation, he has opened the door to yet another Labour feud.
However, Sir Tony, who served as Labour’s leader from 1994 to 2007, insisted that Sir Keir was correct to refuse to give in to “huge pressure” to back extensive industrial action.
The former Labour premier’s intervention was met with an immediate backlash from the left-wing of the party, which had been incensed by Sir Keir’s opposition to strikes.
Sir Tony, who amassed a multi-million dollar wealth after leaving Number 10, was warned by irate Labour members that he “stands for the few, not the many.”
Sir Tony, who yesterday hosted a conference called “Blairfest” in London, cautioned Sir Keir in an interview with BBC Newsnight that he could not be seen to be supporting widespread strikes if he wanted to win the next general election.
The former prime minister added, “You may have every sympathy for individuals who, as a result of the predicament the economy is in—the cost-of-living issue, high inflation—that they’re upset about the situation, apprehensive about their terms and conditions of employment.”
“You can see why these strikes are being called,” the speaker said.
However, if Labour wants to become the next government, they must make it very plain that the nation cannot currently afford a wave of public sector strikes.
Sir Tony rejected to endorse public sector workers receiving wage increases based on inflation at a time when rates are expected to jump to 11% later this year.
“Each pay settlement is a matter of negotiation, in the public sector,” he said, “but I think it would be very bad for Labour to back a wave of strikes in the public sector.”
I am aware that it will face tremendous pressure. But if you want to become the government, one of the things you have to do when you’re in opposition is to imagine what your position would be like.
“I was fortunate to be in office at a period of robust economic growth, which allowed us to invest in public services and prevent many strikes throughout my ten years as prime minister.”
If Labour wins the election, “We’re in a different scenario today; the economic climate will be much worse.”
But the nation must be aware that you’re willing to make the difficult choices necessary to put the nation back on a path where it can invest in public services.
During his tenure as Labour leader, Sir Keir’s predecessor Jeremy Corbyn made a point of separating himself from Blair’s New Labour administration.
But in the run-up to the next election, Sir Tony advised Sir Keir to embrace New Labour’s legacy and highlight his administration’s accomplishments in sectors like schools and the NHS.
I think it’s a better approach, and I recognize the pressure that strikes in the public sector will put on Labour, the man remarked.
But it must consider itself a government in waiting, which is why I applaud Keir’s efforts.
As Britons struggle with the cost of living problem, former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, a steadfast supporter of Mr. Corbyn on the left, reacted angrily to Sir Tony’s remarks.
“UK salaries are declining at the fastest rate in more than 20 years,” she declared. But millionaire Tony Blair thinks the Labour party shouldn’t support strikes and won’t criticize pay increases below inflation.
He stands for the few, not the people, declared Momentum, the Labour pressure group that was founded out of Mr. Corbyn’s two Labour leadership campaigns.