Advertisement

How Tony Blair's Legacy Affects Keir Starmer's Foreign Policy

As Britain watches a deeply volatile conflict between Israel, the United States, Iran and other p...

Share this article

02.00 6 Mar 2026


How Tony Blair's Legacy Affects Keir Starmer's Foreign Policy


Listen to this episode


Share this article

02.00 6 Mar 2026


As Britain watches a deeply volatile conflict between Israel, the United States, Iran and other parts of the Middle East, Keir Starmer finds himself in a major foreign policy test, and his instincts are as closely scrutinized as his domestic polling.

Starmer has taken a quite cautious legal approach, refusing to commit the UK to offensive strikes on Iran and insisting that British military action must be lawful and clearly in the national interest. That stance has drawn sharp rebukes from US President Donald Trump, and critics at home who argue he's wobbling under pressure.

But behind this modern dilemma is a long shadow, the legacy of Tony Blair and the Iraq War, whose legal and strategic controversies still shape how Labour approaches military intervention.

So today, we're asking, is Starmer's stance in Iran defined by principle or just by a fear of repeating the mistakes of Blairism

Joining Ciara to discuss this is Glen O’Hara - Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Oxford Brookes University and author of New Labour, New Britain?: How the Blair Governments Reshaped the Country


Read more about

Newstalk Daily

Related Episodes

Putting Net Zero Into Action o...

00:44:56

Putting Net Zero Into Action on Cape Clear

28 Ways To Save The World

00:44:56


Movies and TV: Vladimir, Hoppe...

00:14:36

Movies and TV: Vladimir, Hoppers, DTF St Louis

The Hard Shoulder

00:14:36


Special Olympics Ireland hold...

00:04:41

Special Olympics Ireland hold launch event ahead of Summer Games - Henry McKean Reports

The Hard Shoulder

00:04:41


How do we solve this energy cr...

00:08:52

How do we solve this energy crisis?

The Hard Shoulder

00:08:52