Blair criticises Starmer’s Labour for having no plan, the wrong policies on net zero, migration, and growth — and Reform in-fighting as Restore Britain improve in polls

Tony Blair has dropped a political bombshell on Keir Starmer's desk. In a scathing 5,700-word essay, the former Prime Minister and three-time election winner says Labour has no coherent plan to fix Britain, is governing from a "soft left comfort zone," and will lose the next general election unless it ditches net zero, slashes the welfare bill, stops the boats, and stops pretending that swapping leaders is the same as changing course.Julia Hartley-Brewer is joined by former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who finds remarkably little to disagree with in Blair's brutal assessment, despite their different parties. He breaks down exactly where this government went wrong — arriving with a historic landslide on just 33% of the vote and then standing completely still. No plan. No direction. Just a budget that hammered small businesses with national insurance hikes, a soaring minimum wage, and crippling business rates — the very engine room of British jobs and growth.IDS also reflects on his own record reforming welfare under Universal Credit — cutting between £28 and £32 billion from the budget and delivering the lowest number of workless households since records began — and why Labour's half-hearted attempts to repeat that are doomed to fail.Also: the Makerfield by-election is descending into farce, with Reform and the newly formed Restore Britain tearing chunks out of each other while Andy Burnham eyes the prize. Is this just a parade of oversized egos? Plus, Nicola Sturgeon and the motorhome that apparently nobody saw — for two years, on her mother-in-law's driveway.Julia Hartley-Brewer broadcasts on Talk from Monday to Thursday, 10AM to 1PM.Available on YouTube and streaming platforms, along with DAB+ radio and your smart speaker Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.