Tony Blair warned the new Prime Minister of Britain to "close the way" to the populist right by strict immigration control.
The former prime minister said the new government should tackle parties such as Nigel Farage's Reform Party by tackling grassroots issues, while sticking to the center to maintain the Labor Party's electoral coalition.
However, he said he believed immigration should be celebrated for the good it had brought to the country, adding that the Conservative Party's "crazy" approach to the issue had harmed the economy.
The Reform Party won five seats and 14 percent of the vote in last week's elections.
In his first interview since the Labor Party won power, Blair told The Guardian: "Progressives need to think about solutions, but it is crucial to understand the tactics of populists. Populists usually do not create discontent, but exploit it. If you want to make it harder for them to spread support, you have to deal with the causes of that discontent. That's why Cyrus is absolutely right when he says you have to control immigration," Blair said.
Starmer, who said he would stand up to the populist right by making a material difference to people's lives, scrapped a controversial plan to transfer thousands of asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda and diverted tens of millions of pounds from that program to the creation of a new Border Security Command as part of plans to combat illegal migration.
Populists usually do not create discontent, but exploit it. If you want to make it harder for them to spread support, you have to deal with the causes of that discontent
Blair also said that the government should take law and order "very seriously" into account and be "very careful" about cultural issues being exploited by the right.
"Labour has a coherent (electoral) coalition, provided you approach things from the centre".
The former prime minister, who campaigned to remain in the EU referendum, said he understood Starmer's cautious approach to a closer relationship with Europe after the party's heavy election defeat in 2019. "You have to be careful with that," Blair said.
He could not predict whether Britain would ever join the single market or customs union again.
"One thing I am absolutely sure of is that Britain will have to be part of a political family on its own continent."
"What form it will take, I don't know. But it is absolutely necessary for a country like Britain to realize, because we have become very inward-looking as a country, that in the next two decades you will have three giants in the world - America, China and probably India. And the only alternative that all other countries will have is to be part of regional groups that together offer you what you cannot have individually".
He said the decision to end migration from Europe as a result of Brexit was "the craziest thing", as it led to young people working in the hospitality industry being replaced by large numbers of migrants from Asia and Africa.
Blair, who said that he followed the news about Labor's election victory until one o'clock on Thursday evening, said that he is in regular contact with Starmer. "I don't really offer advice, but if he wants to talk about certain things, then let's talk," he said.
“I was so happy that the Labor Party was finally back. She couldn't do anything if she wasn't in power. He led the party from its worst defeat ever to one of its biggest electoral victories. In a way, that is the biggest victory, given the challenge”.
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