blair's today the executive chairman of the tony blair institute for global change. welcome. >> thank you. >> so tell us what you think about this move, finland and probably sweden becoming members of nato. this is a huge change. finland has been neutral for decades and decades. do you think nato should let them in? >> yes and i think it's completely sensible move from their perspective. you had an act of unprovoked brutal aggression against ukraine and obviously all of these countries are looking for the solidarity that nato membership gets you. and it's an interesting example of how the very thing president putin wanted to prevent, which is nato becoming stronger and enlarging is going to be the very outcome of what he's done. >> what do you say to people who worry that this is the kind of westward expansion of nato that has put a lot of russians, not just putin, ill at ease, that part of what -- into the kind of combustible stew that produced this problem is nato expansion and then offering ukraine and georgia membership and this is one more provocation that we sh

in tony blair's time, j like that in tony blair's time, alistair— like that in tony blair's time, alistair campbell— like that in tony blair's time, alistair campbell and - like that in tony blair's time, alistair campbell and hunter| alistair campbell and hunter were — alistair campbell and hunter were close _ alistair campbell and hunter were close to _ alistair campbell and hunter were close to me _ alistair campbell and hunter were close to me at - alistair campbell and hunter were close to me at the - alistair campbell and hunter| were close to me at the daily sound — were close to me at the daily sound but— were close to me at the daily sound but not— were close to me at the daily sound but not like _ were close to me at the daily sound but not like this! - were close to me at the daily sound but not like this! it- were close to me at the daily| sound but not like this! it has -ot sound but not like this! it has got so — sound but not like this! it has got so close _ sound but not like this! it has got so close that _ sound but not like this! it has got so close that it's

the tony blair rock i steve thank you. the tony blair rock opera. you heard that right and saw it right. bizarre if you suddenly switched on and saw a man in a hulk mask and talking about gordon brown. you really are watching bbc breakfast. the end of the school year is fast approaching, and year 11 pupils will be looking forward to celebrating at their prom. but proms can also come with a lot of expense, and when one teacher heard that one of her pupils wouldn't be attending because she couldn't afford a dress, the teacher set up pop—up shops of donated frocks and suits that can be worn free of charge. reporter sarah rogers is at a school in sandwell and can tell us more. good morning. good morning. it is so lovely here. it has been set up lovingly. it is more like a boutique. i want you to close your eyes and think back to high school days. did you have a dance, disco. mine was called end of year deal. now it is the prom. and it can be expensive. buying a dress or suit is not a top priority. and so in steps teacher and fairy godmother stephanie,

"you are far too close to tony blair, you shouldn't be going to downing street." these days, i look at the mail and i think, "hmm, i have never known a paper," at the moment, "that is closer to a prime minister than the daily mail." and i'm not quite sure why that is and it's clear that there a lot of independence, people like stephen, who can say...who has a stature where he can say exactly what he likes. but, put it this way, if this was a labour prime minister, he'd have gone months ago. he or she would not survive having the tabloids and the telegraph and the times banging on. it's only because they know they can rely on that support. the mail tomorrow will be more professional in supporting borisjohnson than his own team, because they're better at it. but it is also — you are saying if a labour prime minister was in this situation, i think it is worth pointing out that boris johnson is an unusual politician and i don't mean that in a judgemental away, it's simply true that he proves more resilient in moments of pressure than many other politicians and that

. | i'm talking about those people, | it wasn't like that in tony blair's time, alastair campbell was close to the sun, . when i was editing, but not like this. i it's got so close frankly that it'5 dangerous i and anti—democratic, ithinic _ and, steven, you've got some writing to do. but i would be interested, i'm sure people that are listening would be interested in the process of producing a column for the daily mail, do you simply write it, send it off and go here you go? or is there a discussion with the editor or one of the editors below him about the angle that you're taking on the story? normally, in the morning i propose a couple of ideas to a features editor and then she speaks with the editor and the choices made between my two ideas and maybe three on some occasions. and then i might talk to the editor if i feel that he's got something to say or i might learn something of what he says or i might not. i've spoken to him this afternoon about a column i'm writing about borisjohnson and i take a much more critical view of borisjohnson than he does. he's perfectly happy about

blair before austerity, and they have turned their back on the conservative party. that is really interesting. not an amazingly good night for the labour party, but i think certainly a worse night by a margin for the conservatives.— a worse night by a margin for the conservatives. ~ ., ., , ., ., ~ ., conservatives. what do you make of it? interesting _ conservatives. what do you make of it? interesting that _ conservatives. what do you make of it? interesting that the _ conservatives. what do you make of it? interesting that the sun, - conservatives. what do you make of it? interesting that the sun, if - conservatives. what do you make of it? interesting that the sun, if you i it? interesting that the sun, if you look at the sun, has actually a rather poor quality version i'm afraid for tomorrow's paper but are you going to korma quietly? what good news there was for labour and there was some good news and dramatic in some places has been kind of overshadowed by the police's announcement.— announcement. indeed. look, keir starmer with _ announcement. indeed. lo

blair and gordorr— street and outside of tony blair and gordon brown. after tony blair and his charisma taken the country into the iraq _ his charisma taken the country into the iraq war, the country did not want a _ the iraq war, the country did not want a lot— the iraq war, the country did not want a lot of advisers, they wanted safe and _ want a lot of advisers, they wanted safe and not mr chris met nick i gordon brown although he didn't call the election when they wanted them to call— the election when they wanted them to call it _ the election when they wanted them to call it the rest is history. so, i think— to call it the rest is history. so, i think we'll _ to call it the rest is history. so, i think we'll be looking, people will be — i think we'll be looking, people will be looking for different qualities safe for pair of hands, possibly— qualities safe for pair of hands, possibly in ben wallace is an interesting profile.— possibly in ben wallace is an interesting profile. labour party ahead of the — interesting profile. labour pa

blair, and now boris johnson. one of the mainstays of the royal and political calendars is the weekly audience between monarch and prime minister, just one aspect of the queen's work on affairs of state, as our deputy political editor vicki young reports. the queen and her prime ministers. this was a reunion organised in the 1990s. head of state and head of government appear side by side for dozens of public events, but the relationship is forged behind closed doors — weekly meetings at the palace... nice to see you again. lovely to see you again. ..that we only get a glimpse of. the queen's views are kept private, political neutrality carefully adhered to, her words written by her prime ministers. i pray that the blessing of almighty god may rest upon your counsels. her first was winston churchill. he was protective of this new young sovereign who had so much to learn. archive: now, upon the - shoulders of sir anthony falls the role of the queen's first minister. - after churchill came anthony eden, whose decis

tony blair certainly appreciated the queen's advice after his landslide victory for labour. even though i was the politician and she was the monarch, i found her notjust useful, but sometimes deeply insightful. it's very good to welcome you here... when you have to explain what you're trying to achieve, it's a very good form of therapy. imagine doing that to the world's greatest public servant who's seen it all and heard it all. there's really no better way of getting your head straight about what you're trying to do. 1a prime ministers — 1a very different politicians with their own visions, worries and agendas. for seven decades, the queen has worked with all of them, a monarch at the heart of a democratic constitution — advising, encouraging and warning, providing continuity as each new political tide swept in. vicki young, bbc news. what a remarkable lifetime of service. that's it for us on tuesday. thanks so much for watching. —— on newsday. do stay with bbc news. hello. a new month starts with very similar weather. after tuesday's big cloud, showers and thunders

tony blair certainly appreciated the queen's advice after his landslide victory for labour. even though i was the politician and she was the monarch, i found her notjust useful, but sometimes deeply insightful. it's very good to welcome you here... when you have to explain what you're trying to achieve, it's a very good form of therapy. imagine doing that to the world's greatest public servant who's seen it all and heard it all. there's really no better way of getting your head straight about what you're trying to do. 1a prime ministers — 1a very different politicians with their own visions, worries and agendas. for seven decades, the queen has worked with all of them, a monarch at the heart of a democratic constitution — advising, encouraging and warning, providing continuity as each new political tide swept in. vicki young, bbc news. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night.

the contrasts in the photo between gordon brown and tony blair. >> it's a bit more formal. and you can see that the president is wearing it while, and he's, i'm sure, striking up a relationship as a great leaders to, they figure out a way to connect differently with leaders and their own personalities. >> so he showed up in a suit and tie. >> some were very formal. that happened with president hollande of france under the g8 summit, we [inaudible] joke about it the kind of like that one. and so some people don't understand the purpose of camp david and i think once they let that guard down, it provides the right setting, the corner to talk. >> did you all know he was going to shop show up in a suit and tie the? >> did not do that. >> so what did you do? >> they addressed a properly overtime you, just reactive. >> [inaudible] stuffing, that, and there was a scramble to find that times when we gone [inaudible] [laughter] the military, they always look good. [laughter] not the staff. >> so, josh, you have an interesting experience when you were there, and i want you to tell th

tony blair certainly appreciated the queen's advice after his landslide victory for labour. even though i was the politician and she was the monarch, i found her not just useful, but sometimes deeply insightful. it's very good to welcome you here... when you have to explain what you're trying to achieve, its a very good form of therapy. imagine doing that to the world's greatest public servant who's seen it all and heard it all. there's really no better way of getting your head straight about what you're trying to do. 1a prime ministers — 1a very different politicians with their own visions, worries and agendas. for seven decades, the queen has worked with all of them, a monarch at the heart of a democratic constitution — advising, encouraging and warning, providing continuity as each new political tide swept in. vicki young, bbc news. the former conservative cabinet minister, dame andrea leadsom, has added her voice to the criticism directed at borisjohnson about lockdown parties at downing street. in a letter to her constituents, she said there were unacceptable failur

blair and there was a real... first of all we were not having level of party and, it wasn't like freshers' week what i was working at downing street for the secondly, we were a very tight team right from the cleaning staff to the people working in the gym some of the civil service, the special advisers cupit to the prime minister, it was a really tight ship. the fact that all these leaks have been coming out in a sustained way tells you that number ten is not a happy ship. we know that because of all the personnel changes and there has been like stormy clouds over downing street for quite some time. but what i think is true is that there is an element of partisanship but i think it's too lazy to say that. i think most of the broadcasters do not have a particular agenda. they are looking at this because it is a legitimate story to prove. i want to ask about the broadcasters and in particular bbc at a moment. david, help me out with some context, ayesha is saying the volume of leads coming out suggest a broader dysf

and will kind of pass all this up as, you know, in the way that tony blair used to say "john being john" aboutjohn prescott, might say "boris being boris". he breaks rules. we kind of accept that, even if we're not all that keen on it. well, they may, but that's not what they're saying. at the moment. i mean, even a very significant proportion of conservative - voters who voted for him and voted for us think. he should resign. not a majority, but enough that if they don't vote for us - again, we lose. and i think something like 60, 65% of conservative voters - think he hasn't beenl straight with people, that he hasn't been telling the truth over what's been happening in downing street. so i think once people decide you're not being straight - with them, you've i got a real problem. and i'm not sure, once i people decide you're not being straight with them, i you can ever quite put that right. if it's a policy thing, - you know, if you make some cock—ups on policy, - you know, you can fix those. but i think if people . decide you're not being straight with them... and the thing with co

blair have beenin politicians like tony blair have been in the past, and i think for labour to be thinking on doing very well in 2024, they need a leader who can speak to what is now quite a diverse electoral coalition. it combines traditional working—class voters, quite affluent young voters in university towns, you've got to have somebody who says, this is what labour is for, this is our vision, this is what we stand for. at the moment, it feels to me that labour is a party that is trading off and reacting against some of the scandals happening to the conservatives. that can take you quite a long way, particularly in a set of local elections which is about delivering a message to the government, but i think mostly in aliss would agree that labour is not where they need to be if they were looking at winning a majority, and i do think that comes down to keir starmer. ., , ., , , . starmer. tim, nearly 24 hours since the olls starmer. tim, nearly 24 hours since the polls close- _ starmer. tim, nearly 24 hours since the polls close. where _ starmer. tim, nearly 24 hours since the polls clo

tony blair won three elections _ labour government? tony blair won three elections in _ labour government? tony blair won three elections in a _ labour government? tony blair won three elections in a row— labour government? tony blair won three elections in a row and - labour government? tony blair won three elections in a row and i - labour government? tony blair won three elections in a row and i want l three elections in a row and i want the labour party to win elections, i don't want to be in opposition, i want to win elections so we can change millions of lives. i am very happy to talk to tony blair and gordon brown because they are winners. they won three elections and therefore of course i talk with tony blair and with gordon brown and i'm very happy to do so. it was very important to me to have that endorsement and have tony as part of a message to the country because it is very important that we are not only remember but celebrate all the very many achievements of the last labour government as we look forward to the next lab

he is not tony blair. when tony blair was really on the charge in 95, 96 and that that's not happening. i do and that that's not happening. i do think we have _ and that that's not happening. i do think we have to remember he's coming — think we have to remember he's coming from a very poor, very difficult — coming from a very poor, very difficult position at 2019. he has made _ difficult position at 2019. he has made some headway but like you say, there's— made some headway but like you say, there's treen— made some headway but like you say, there's been big stories for him to capitalise — there's been big stories for him to capitalise on. can there's been big stories for him to capitalise om— there's been big stories for him to capitalise on. can we take a pause was back pp _ capitalise on. can we take a pause was back up and _ capitalise on. can we take a pause was back up and talk— capitalise on. can we take a pause was back up and talk about live . was back up and talk about live dams, g

let's talk to anton speed jack, who's a senior fellow, they tony blair institute where he specializes in u k. u relations. he joins us from london. welcome to d. w. explain to was why it would matter if the u. k. a chose to walk away from this deal unilaterally. thanks for having me. i think it's really important to take a step back here and go back to the autumn of 2019. when we were in agreement between the u. k and the after a long period of the nation, you will remember that a very purchased process. and you can the manage to find a deal which included so called northern ireland protocol which avoided any kind of food or checks between the republic of ireland and northern ireland. but instead created some restrictions in terms of the movement of goods between great britain and within ireland. now this still was really important because as we know, the history of northern ireland is one of, of why ones. and it is really essential to preserve the good friday agreement and the protocol does, does exactly that. but if it, if it impinges on people's everyday lives in britain chooses to

except when tony blair injohn major went and did thatjoint conference. exactly right and nobody listen to them. they were shouting from the rooftops and this is the first possible step towards it. the interesting thing is of course the dup were not quite sure whether they would agree to a power—sharing if they don't, then the port nor irish public are going to have to go back to the polls and another six potentially, which could actually get sinn fein even more support. take us to a story in the news in brief stories at the bottom thereof the telegraph with the headline scholz must visit kyiv to prove his loyalty. scholz must visit kyiv to prove his lo al . �* scholz must visit kyiv to prove his [0 al . �* ., , . ., scholz must visit kyiv to prove his loal.�* . _ loyalty. i'm fascinated by the relationship _ loyalty. i'm fascinated by the relationship between - loyalty. i'm fascinated by thej relationship between ukraine loyalty. i'm fascinated by the - relationship between ukraine and germany and have accordingly and appallingly germany have dea

tony blair was totally wrong. everybody was totally wrong about vladimir putin. it took me a little less time than most people in the west to understand that he's truly evil and we need to fight him. but we were all totally wrong. he fooled us all. and for people who don't remember the story, you, from 2005 on, were regarded as something of an enemy by putin, who'd been in power for five years or so, because you kept banging on about the need to root out corruption, and that didn't suit putin. by 2007, you were definitely persona non grata in the country. you were then facing legal action. you hired a lawyer, sergei magnitsky. he ended up, because of the digging he was doing into corruption, some of it on your behalf, he ended up in police detention and he ended up murdered, i believe, in 2009. how much of what you are doing to this very day is driven by the sentiment roused by the death of magnitsky, who was working for you? that's been the driving force for me. sergei magnitsky was my lawyer. he uncovered a $230 million government corruption scheme. he testifie

blair. and i said, oh, i'd love it if there was a newscast musical. big musicalfan. and i said, but please don't put too much effort into it. don't, like, do a demo of a whole newscast musical. jeff from indianapolis has actually done a demo of a newscast musical. so that's the first amazing thing. the second amazing thing is he's taken lots of newscast characters and written songs about them based on actual musicals. no! so there was one about chris mason based onjesus christ superstar.

shaun woodward was northern ireland secretary between 2007 to 2010, under both tony blair and gordon brown. welcome. so, is this a square that is impossible, a circle that is impossible to square to continue with that analogy there from adam? how do you see this going forward? well, the first problem is the rhetoric is almost now out of control. you have had liz truss making ridiculous statements about tearing up international treaties, you've had the dup now refusing to put forward the speaker so the assembly can't actually be convened in northern ireland, and, as a consequence, rhetoric which has been very high on a number of sides is spinning out of control. the second thing which is really important here, joanna, the conspicuous absence until today of the prime minister. the prime ministers i worked for, tony blair and gordon brown and john major, where very, very active, notjust brown and john major, where very, very active, not just when crises happened, but actually in the build—up to building agreements and what has been a game so noticeable in this is that the prime minist

in several years later, tony blair admitted yes, we made a mistake, but oh, well, what are you going to do? obviously by then there was nothing anyone could do the bomb, the country for millions of civilians were killed in iraq. territorial and tag is still in jeopardy. and the countries facing numerous problems, serious ones like terrorism, for example, which wasn't a problem before the invasion. yes, iraq and libya had authoritarian governments but no terrace. these were not combat zones with conflicts rising all the time. hibler libby, as another example in 2011 obama said that america will be leading behind europe. spac, france, the most democratic country in old europe, with its liberty, a gala tag, fraternity principle, had did up the nature operation against the reggie and ended up destroying the whole country. and libya's having a really hard time getting back to normal. the french of course, and now trying to help they keep coming up with various initiatives, hold conferences, amount, selection dates, but nothing is working. they should have thoughts about libby as feature a

in several years later, tony blair admitted yes, we made a mistake, but oh, well, what are you going to do? obviously by then there was nothing anyone could do. they bought the country for millions of civilians were killed in iraq, territorial, and he is still in jeopardy. and the country is facing numerous problems. serious ones like terrorism, for example, which wasn't a problem before the invasion. yes, iraq and libya had authoritarian governments but no terrace. these were not combat settings with conflicts rising all the time. hibler libby, as another example in 2011 obama said that america will be leading behind europe. spac, france, the most democratic country in old europe, with its liberty, a gala tag frontend, to take principle, had it up the nature operation against the reggie, and ended up destroying the whole country. and libya's having a really hard time getting back to normal. the french of course, now trying to help they keep coming up with various initiatives, hold conferences, amount, selection dates, but nothing is working. they should have thoughts about libby as

blair, he hasn't got that star quality, but part of that story was also how will the lib dems did and the combination of that absolutely devastated, decimated is a better word, the conservatives. yes, there is clearly a possibility of a lib—lab pact, the liberals are certainly not going to ally with the tories, so the tories have nowhere to go. liberal and labour are both saying that they are not going to enter into a formal pact, but of course that's a possibility and it's probably the only way that the numbers would stack up. and the south—west, i mean, it's interesting, the south—west went largely blue at the last election, it was a liberal democrat stronghold, it does seem to be coming back, we have to see what happens right across—the—board, but clearly you are right. there is a lack of confidence in this government. but i think what we have seen today is that we are not going to see the tories themselves moving to oust borisjohnson. i think there is a more profound lack of confidence in the british constitution and democracy. i think people are really, really fed up. t

so i've got a clip of tony blair the very first time i asked a question in the house of commons. and as i stood up to ask the question, he lent to jack straw and he went, who's that? because it was... ..and i've got that clip still, because it was so unusual for someone of my accent and a female standing up on the tory benches to ask a question. and so it was all of those things. there was a hell of a lot of snobbery in there as well. you know, working class, like proper working class from liverpool, a tory, you know, it was kind of like just unheard of. but i got it from the other side. it came from the opposition, like, how dare you be a tory, you and your background, you're supposed to be on this side of the house. so i was in a lose—lose situation from the day i arrived. proper working class, it's been a long road, doesn't it, from breck road in liverpool to where you are today? your dad was a bus driver originally, your mum was a typist. was it a home in which you were talking politics? were you having arguments, were you having rows there? so everyone in liverpool talks a

blair. so, i think i actuallyjust found more commonality... the reason i say that is you say politics is a bit like dating and you will work with anybody. yeah. you did more than work with borisjohnson, i mean you praised him as a real champion of women's rights, you described him as "one of my feminist heroes," this wasn'tjust working with him, you were saying, he is the guy. the guy is going to sort it. yeah, no, i really wanted him to become prime minister so i was happy to do that because he did and he does believe in gender equality. do you know what? sitting down with people and getting to know them personally, you get to know what makes them tick and whatnot, and as an example, i wouldn't write that kind of stuff forjacob rees—mogg because i don't think he is a feminist, i don't think he believes in the basic human rights that women are meant to uphold, and it kind of scares me that if there is a leadership again, that there will be people that are in the forefront, likejeremy hunt,

it is 25 years since tony blair came to power at westminster and it is 15 years since the snp took charge of scotland's devolved administration. what is remarkable looking back is how rapidly that political shift occurred, in historical terms how short the gap between those two events was. where does that leave us now? well, labour have faded over time in scotland and the city is an example of that. the snp now run the council here in glasgow, once really the heartland of the labour movement. what will happen? the voters will be choosing councillors, all 1200 or so in scotland are up for election in 32 councils across the country. and in scotland they will be using a system of proportional representation, not first past the post. they will be ranking candidates in order of preference. on the face of it, these elections are about local issues, such as schools and dust bin collections and libraries and so on. they might also tell us something about the wider political picture. what will it tell us about the current support for the snp in scotland? how are the conservatives faring with the p

even tony blair couldn't move them to labour. he then had to do a tour to cumberland, to worthing, to the sea wall seats that are coming back to labour, you can completely see why you schedule things, but today he had to clear this off the table, box it off so that tomorrow he can go on the attack on the queen speech. thank ou so attack on the queen speech. thank you so much _ attack on the queen speech. thank you so much for— attack on the queen speech. thank you so much for coming _ attack on the queen speech. thank you so much for coming on - attack on the queen speech. thank you so much for coming on the - you so much for coming on the programme, appreciated. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are annabel denham, who's director of communications at the iea , the institute of econonomic affairs, and the broadcaster, john stapleton. dojoin us for that do join us for that if we can. next, buckingham

blair swept, the snp run the city council. will that change tomorrow? that is a matter of course for the voters. more than 1200 councillors will be elected and the election system that is used is not first past the post but proportional representation where voters rank candidates by order of preference, in order. local services have featured prominently, as has the cost of living, but there may be something we can reach into the results, perhaps an indication of the current level of support for scottish independence and perhaps an indication of how the conservative party has been damaged by lockdown parties in whitehall, in downing street in particular, not least because the scottish conservative party leader douglas ross first called for the prime minister to go and then withdrew that call. perhaps we will also learn something about whether labour is able to stage a resurgence, particularly in glasgow. thanks, james. let's go to barry and hywel griffith. labour is in charge in cardiff bay in the welsh government, what is at s