Planet Normal: Blair talks sense on this Lefty Labour Party, and Starmer should listen to save them

This week on Planet Normal, your co-pilots of sanity, Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson, dive into a political landscape dominated by explosive leadership interventions and growing institutional scandal. Following a dramatic local election period, the duo analyzes a scathing 5,000-word essay by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has openly lacerated his own party for what he calls an “infinite capacity for self-delusion”. Liam details the escalating fiscal warning signs rattling the British establishment. He warns that despite a temporary dip in the UK inflation rate to 2.8%, it is on track to hit 5% later this year. With long-term government borrowing costs flirting with 30-year highs, Liam argues that cosmetic fixes like supermarket price controls and rollercoaster VAT cuts will do nothing to soothe terrified sovereign bond markets. Meanwhile Allison shares her assessment of the Scottish National Party following the sensational embezzlement guilty plea of its former chief executive. This week’s stowaway on the rocket is serial entrepreneur and hospitality titan Luke Johnson, who shares a powerful breakdown of how Britain is currently navigating life under what he defines as a “highly damaging socialist government”. Highlights Blair is talking sense on this Lefty Labour Party, and Starmer should listen to save them Sir Keir Starmer faces mounting threats to his leadership as ideological factions fracture the Labour Party. Looming fiscal disaster deepens as the UK inflation rate is projected to climb back toward 5%. The SNP establishment faces total mockery following the sensational embezzlement fallout of its leadership. Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor | Book your tickets to 'How to make Brexit a success’ on 29th June in London: telegraph.co.uk/brexit-big-debate | Read Allison ‘Did you really not know about your husband, Nicola?’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/26/allison-pearson-nicola-sturgeon-husband/ | Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘The approaching inflation crisis is a disaster for Labour’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/05/24/the-approaching-inflation-crisis-is-a-disaster-for-labour/ | Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ | Read Liam’s Substack: https://liamhalligan.substack.com/ | Need help subscribing or reviewing? Learn more about podcasts here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/ | Email: [email protected] | For 30 days’ free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normal |