He was brilliant in his day, but the former leader’s hope to return as adviser to a Labour government must be a nonstarter
After all the abstract chat and whispers from the sidelines, a tangible proposal: Tony Blair wants to return to advise the next Labour government. As the notion gains currency, much of the country cheers; the rest of it jeers. What is it about this man that engenders such love and loathing, and would it be good for Labour or the country if he returned?
The first point to make after the New Statesman’s scoop – the fruit of a conversation between Blair and the actor/guest editor Michael Sheen – is that he almost certainly is advising already, either directly or through intermediaries such as Peter Mandelson, who is known to be close to Keir Starmer’s key fixer Morgan McSweeney.
Neal Lawson is a director of the centre-left pressure group Compass
