Blair pens ‘leadership guide I wish I was given in 1997’

SIR TONY BLAIR has written the leadership manual he says he wished he was given in 1997, in what will be widely seen as a handbook for Sir Keir Starmer.

The guide for a “busy, aspiring leader” draws on the former prime minister’s experience, which he describes as being like “the national football coach of a football-crazy nation”, where everyone thinks they can do a better job. It will be viewed as an aptly timed intervention as Labour leads in the polls ahead of the next general election.

Sir Tony said the “short guide” was not an academic work, nor was it designed to be comprehensive. Rather, it will offer tips to the aspiring leader on the “painful” privilege of power, and the transition from “talking” to “doing”.

He said: “Governing a country is in one sense a little like being the national football coach of a football-crazy nation. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone thinks they can do it and do it better than you. The role of leader is a privilege, of course, but a privilege that is painful. The most painful part? To get things done. You arrive in power as the great persuader. You govern as the CEO. Persuasion is about talking. Governing is about doing.” In a statement promoting the book, to be released in the UK this September, publishers Hutchinson Heinemann described it as “the manual on political leadership” that Sir Tony “would have wanted back in 1997”, when New Labour swept to power.

The guide will share “the insights he has gained from his personal experience and from observing other world leaders at first hand, both while he was in office and since”. In doing so, it will seek to answer “key questions” on how a leader should organise the centre of government, prioritise the right plan, hire the best people and balance short-term wins with long-term change.

A nod to dealing with “unforeseen events” suggests it may touch on Sir Tony’s experiences handling crises such as the 2005 London bombings.

Michael Deacon: Features, page 6