Tony Blair warns Labour to avoid identity politics

I think Blair is saying that focusing on trans rights is a vote loser, not that women have a right be a separate class to men

This with bells on. He isn’t to be trusted and is a proven liar which cost lives

He is just telling the labour MP to STFU and go quiet about it - but I’m glad they are revealing them self’s. Carry on labour MPs, show the public what’s really going on.

It's not just the Momentum types in Labour saying TWAW though, it's Keir Starmer, Lisa Nandy, Jess Philips, Angela Rayner, Sadiq Khan etc.

I thought it was in relation to the fact that same sex marriage was not legal?

It was more acceptable to change the definition of sex, than change the definition of marriage?

Probably worth remembering though that it was Blair's government that brought in the 2004 GRA despite some very prescient warnings about where it would lead.

In all fairness they only brought it in because the European Court of Human Rights made them

Probably worth remembering though that it was Blair's government that brought in the 2004 GRA despite some very prescient warnings about where it would lead.

Exactly.

I think Blair is saying that focusing on trans rights is a vote loser, not that women have a right be a separate class to men.

Probably worth remembering though that it was Blair's government that brought in the 2004 GRA despite some very prescient warnings about where it would lead.

I can see why he might not have perceived the current consequences as they thought they were 'only' accommodating a small number of transsexuals and that number would remain small. Although I don't personally think that's a good enough excuse.

I'd like to see him address his part in this.

I agree Lady. I sometimes wonder whether the current Labour party have any appreciation of their responsibility of being opposition in our political system. I imagine not as they also seem to believe that voters need to earn the respect of their party and not the other way around.

God only knows how the fuck the Labour party are going to fix this in 4 years to become a credible option at the ballot box.

I like this headline
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dont-allow-labour-become-trans-pressure-group-pleads-tony-blair-f8qsj3jtl

I can't imagine anything more likely to make Momentum candidates double down on identity politics than being told not to by Blair.

I agree but that extreme wokeness will be their downfall. This whole pledge debacle is sunlighting the issue big time - even to the pledgers themselves which is comical to watch.

wellbehavedwoman agree wholeheartedly with your post.

I don't love Blair but someone of his calibre would seem like a godsend right now.

I can't imagine anything more likely to make Momentum candidates double down on identity politics than being told not to by Blair. Not only is being electable now unacceptable, it appears that being a credible opposition party is too.

There have been FOUR female labour leadership candidates with platforms and voices that they could have used to address this issue and actually stand up for women. I was listening!

Yes what Tony Blair did was appalling and unforgivable and I will never forget it. However as PPs have said, the other stuff he did was important - he got labour elected and used that to bring in a range of socialist policies, like the minimum wage which everyone was bleating couldn't be done. As an elder statesman of Labour he should stand up as a voice of reason now, if he can. It's the least he can do.

Tony Blair should be in prison for war crimes. Let’s not forget what he did.

It’s sad though that it’s only male voices are being listened to in this time but if that’s what it takes...

They needed to shut him up for Brexit. So they demonised him.

Well said Tony Blair. Despite his faults we need him around and people like him, who no longer have elections to lose and can stand up for common sense. He could have gone further, and I hope he will.

Morning Star reporting Mark Serwotka (General Secretary of the PCS -civil service union) :

"The drive to expel feminists from Labour is creating a hostile environment for women
Leaders, and prospective leaders, must take a firm stand in support of open and respectful discussion regarding sex and gender'
(extract)
Sadly, the pledges on trans rights supported by some of the Labour leadership contenders have weaponised solidarity with trans people and targeted feminist groups. This is the antithesis of the socialist tradition of solidarity and of respecting different viewpoints within our movement.

It should go without saying that there is still a need for a strong feminist movement.

A recent report has found that one woman or girl is killed every 36 hours by male domestic violence, the highest rate in 14 years.

And despite the Equal Pay Act of 1977, pay disparity remains, particularly for working class and BAME women.

In the last few years we’ve seen the rise of new and vibrant women’s movements, including the powerful solidarity displayed by the #metoo movement.

As with women’s movements in the past, there is an angry, anti-feminist backlash occurring around the world.

We are seeing a rise in violence against women, sexist hate speech and online abuse. But, at a time when socialist feminists need unwavering solidarity, some on the left are retreating from sex-based rights, including the commitments in Labour’s 2019 manifesto.

There have been attacks on gatherings of women, such as at the last Labour Party conference where Woman’s Place UK had to call the police in the face of aggression by some Labour activists." (continues)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3827907-Front-Page-Morning-Star-20-02-by-Mark-Serwotka-The-drive-to-expel-feminists-from-Labour-is-creating-a-hostile-environment-for-women

Agree this is what a professional grown up experienced Labour politician sounds like.
I am so gutted that Labour doesn’t reflect this any more. Are they more comfortable being out of power? It’s shameful.

Today I'm rooting for Michael Portillo and Tony Blair.

Does anyone know where we can watch/listen to/read the whole speech?

Blair said Labour had always won when it had broadened British politics, secured the centre ground and looked to the future. “And yet despite this obviously being true, we have exhibited an extraordinary attachment to retreating into a narrow part of the left which has always ended in defeat,” he added

Not a Blair fan, but here the man is speaking sense here.

Oh sorry it’s not World at 1, it’s LBC Shelagh Fogarty

Iraq is the deal breaker I expect (& I was 100% Not In My Name) but aside from that, why do current Labour members dislike TB so much? He is the only living person to have won a general election for Labour.