Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair wants to advise the next Labour government, he told the New Statesman in an interview excerpts of which were published Thursday.
Asked by actor Michael Sheen whether he would consider a fourth term as prime minister, Blair said he hopes the next Labour prime minister will be Keir Starmer, the current Labour Party leader.
Blair was the U.K. prime minister between 1997 and 2007, making him his party’s longest-serving premier but Britain’s role in the Iraq War, which began in 2003, has cast a dark shadow over his legacy.
On whether he envisages a return to British politics, Blair said: “Let’s say I don’t think that route would be open to me, even if I wanted it. So it’s not something I think about at all.”
However, Blair added that he would like to assist a future Labour administration regarding policy. “What I would like to do is help on the policy side with the next Labour government,” he said.
“It’s got to be a platform that makes people think the world’s going to change, it’s just got to be the sort of change they’re not frightened of,” he said.
The Labour Party hasn’t been in power in the U.K. since Gordon Brown’s premiership ended in election defeat in 2010.