Blair warns politics risks being populated by 'weirdo rich' as ​​he calls for Europe reset

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Sir Tony Blair warned that politics risks becoming an arm of celebrity populated by "weirdos and the rich", as he called for a reset of relations of Great Britain with Europe.

The former prime minister also suggested that record net migration was a sign that the UK is still an attractive place to live and denounced identity politics as a "dead end", in a long interview.

More than a decade and a half after leaving frontline politics, he also joked that he might "sit around and drink all day" if he didn't continue working .

Sir Tony and his Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, with more than 800 staff, are expected to wield considerable influence if, as expected, Labor wins its first general election since becoming Prime Minister later this year. .

In a significant change of direction from his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir Starmer has openly praised the legacy of the last Labor government.

But in an interview with The Sunday Times, Sir Tony expressed concern about a “loss of mission” within Western democracy.

Despite a “really exciting world,” he said when speaking to policymakers, “they are a little depressed about the future.”

He warned that too many people think governments are limited in what they can achieve, even as a technological revolution gathers pace.

“Politicians often look at me curiously and say, “Well, maybe he's been out of the political front line too long. » But I tell them no, [the technology] will do it. » change everything! ", did he declare.

However, due to widespread pessimism about the extent of change that could be achieved in government, Blair expressed concerns about the quality of candidates seeking to enter public life. “If you’re not careful, there’s a real risk that politics will become a branch of celebrity,” he said. “So the people who get into politics are the weird ones and the rich ones.”

Meanwhile, even though...