Claim 6e6cee40Checked 21 Jul 2026
TrueOn the truth scale
“Tony Blair said last week that if the Conservative Party repeats its offer of working together on welfare, Labour should accept.”
—Mrs Kemi BadenochConservativeCon / North West Essex·Engagements·03 Jun 2026Factual · historical current chronological
Reasoning & Evidence21 Jul 2026
The claim is directly confirmed by the primary source. In late May 2026, Tony Blair published a lengthy essay through the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. In point 6 of his 10-point plan, he wrote: "If the Conservative Party repeats its offer of working together on welfare, Labour should accept the offer." This was widely reported by the BBC, The Independent, and other outlets around May 26–27, 2026, which is indeed "last week" relative to the June 3, 2026 speech date. The wording in Badenoch's speech closely tracks Blair's original phrasing. The essay was part of a broader intervention calling for welfare reform, scrapping the pensions triple lock, and a "Radical Centre" agenda.
Sources:
- Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, "The Labour Party Is Playing with Fire Over Its Future and the Future of the Country" — https://institute.global/insights/politics-and-governance/the-labour-party-is-playing-with-fire-over-its-future-and-the-future-of-the-country
- BBC News, "Labour has 'no coherent plan' for country, says former PM Blair" — https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx211r9nm3lo
- The Independent, "Tony Blair's 10-point-plan to fix Britain" — https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tony-blair-keir-starmer-labour-ai-b2984227.html
- The Independent, "Blair demands welfare cuts and end of 'unsustainable' pension triple lock" — https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tony-blair-welfare-pension-triple-lock-unsustainable-b2984243.html
From speech
He says he is proud of what they are delivering—I am glad to see that the Prime Minister still has his sense of humour, given we all know that he is losing his job soon. He has no authority, and we know why: his MPs will not let him do anything. The Welfare Secretary said in private what the Government will not dare say in public. He said: “Every meeting I have is: ‘Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others?’” Last week, Tony Blair said: “If the Conservative Party repeats its offer of working together on welfare, Labour should accept”. Today I am repeating that offer to the Prime Minister. Is he ready yet?
Sources opened
| [1] | independent.co.uk |
| [2] | hotminute.co.uk |
| [3] | independent.co.uk |
| [4] | institute.global |
| [5] | institute.global |
| [6] | bbc.com |
| [7] | the-independent.com |