Tony Blair has urged Keir Starmer to ignore “vicious” social media platforms during his time as prime minister, saying that poring over the inevitable criticism that will rain down on him will trigger psychological problems.
“You know, you start scrolling through social media that’s written about you, it’s going to do your head in,” Blair says in an interview with the Observer’s chief political commentator, Andrew Rawnsley, about his new book, On Leadership, Lessons for the 21st century.
In one section of the book, Blair, who went from enjoying sky-high approval ratings early on in his premiership to a position in which he faced mass protests on the streets over the Iraq war, addresses the whole issue of how to deal with torrents of criticism and constant attacks. “DON’T READ IT!” is his advice.
When Rawnsley points out that it is surely important for leaders to know what voters think of them, even when it is unpleasant, Blair adds: “Of course. And, by the way, there’s no leader that isn’t aware of public opinion, and you’ve got to listen to sensible criticism.
“But what I’m really saying is that, if you’re not careful, you can become completely psychologically derailed by critics. And you can’t allow that to happen, you’ve got to carry on, you’ve got to realise it just comes with the territory.”
Blair, who early on in Starmer’s leadership seemed less than convinced of his chances of reaching Downing Street, is full of praise for the new PM’s achievement in taking back power after 14 years in opposition.
“I thought pulling it off was massive, but I have to say he has. And one of the best things he’s done, by the way, is the quality of the candidates that have come in. I know quite a lot of the new young MPs, and they’re good, they’re really good,’ says Blair.
In particular, the former Labour leader, who served as prime minister from 1997 to 2007, praises the way Starmer dealt with the recent far-right riots on Britain’s streets: “I think Keir handled it as well as it could be handled. I give him full marks for it. It was obviously difficult, but he took tough action and that ended it.”
Blair says the key to whether the new PM prospers or fails will be whether or not his government consistently delivers for voters. “It’s always the same thing,” he says. “The challenge of democracy is delivering its efficacy. The reason for the rise of populism is all to do with the fact that people don’t believe governments are delivering for them.”
With Starmer already warning of the “tough decisions” that his government will have to take to mend the economic and societal damage left by the Tories, Blair says in the book that it is vital not to put off the hard decisions. “In retrospect, I would have reformed earlier, faster,” he tells Rawnsley.
He says that Shimon Peres told one of his successors as Israel’s PM, who could not make up his mind what to do: “Do you want to be in the history book or the visitors’ book?” Blair’s advice is “Go to it. It will be tough but if you don’t step up to the challenge, the visitors’ book is where you will end up.”
While he insists his book is not intended as advice to the UK prime minister, he cautions Starmer against thinking that reform of the civil service will reap dividends and make his government more efficient: “My experience is that there is no reform of the system that is going to deliver you big change.”
Instead, he favours bringing in outside expertise to government, praising the way Singapore, a city state of about 6 million people, has “brought 1,600 engineers into the centre of government” to push technological innovation. “That gives you an idea of how much expertise you’re going to require from outside government in order to transform government.”
