Control Britain’s borders to counter Reform, warns Blair

Sir Keir Starmer must control Britain’s borders to see off the threat of Reform UK, Sir Tony Blair has said.

The former Labour prime minister urged his successor to learn from the rise of Marine Le Pen and Georgia Meloni’s populist parties in France and Italy.

Reform secured more than four million votes on Thursday on a platform of ending non-essential migration, coming second to Labour in almost 100 seats.

Sir Tony also called on Sir Keir’s government to take a tougher approach to law and order and avoid “any vulnerability” on wokery.

In an article for The Sunday Times, Sir Tony noted the rise of Reform was “where British politics has much in common with European politics”, writing: “Look at France or Italy.

“Cultural issues, as much if not more than economic issues, are at the heart of it. Reform has pillaged the Tory vote in this election, true. But it poses a challenge for Labour too.”

Emphasising the importance of border security on the day that Sir Keir scrapped the Rwanda plan, Sir Tony added: “We need a plan to control immigration. If we don’t have rules, we get prejudices.

“In office, I believed the best solution was a system of identity, so that we know precisely who has a right to be here. With, again, technology, we should move as the world is moving to digital ID. If not, new border controls will have to be highly effective.”

He went on to warn criminal gangs were currently outpacing law enforcement, calling for a “tough new approach”, before adding Sir Keir “should avoid any vulnerability on wokeism”.

Labour often struggled in fighting the culture wars during its time in opposition, with Sir Keir shifting his position several times on transgender issues.

Starmer took the knee

He came under fire in 2020 after he took the knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Elsewhere in the piece, Sir Tony hailed Sir Keir’s “immense” achievement at Thursday’s election, when Labour won 411 out of 650 seats in a bigger swing than his own 1997 triumph.

“It is the most remarkable turnaround in recent British electoral history and the most stunning in the 120-year history of the Labour Party,” he said.

Hailing Sir Keir’s five missions as the right priorities for government, Sir Tony argued artificial intelligence was the only “game-changer” that can achieve the economic growth Labour wanted to see, estimating its effective use could save tens of billions over a decade.