“Then, in the last Budget, it appeared as if we were increasing tax to pay for additional welfare spending, when the public already thinks welfare bills are too high,” he said.
“Taken together, these measures have given headwinds not tailwinds to British business despite the macroeconomic gains for which the chancellor is rightly praised.”
He called on the government to try and limit the effect of these changes and remove parts of the net-zero agenda “which prioritise clean energy over cheaper energy”.
On the UK’s relationship with the European Union, Sir Tony said “Britain has lost from Brexit” and “at some point it is ripe to enter a debate about ‘going back’.”
Wes Streeting, who resigned as health secretary earlier this month in protest at Sir Keir’s leadership and has confirmed he would stand in any contest, recently argued that the UK should rejoin the EU one day.
However, Sir Tony said: “Just as Brexit was never the answer to Britain’s challenges back in 2016, reversing it isn’t the answer to the country’s far worse situation in 2026.”
He added: “If we want to go back into some sort of structured relationship with Europe, we can only do so from a position of economic strength.”
Setting out his own vision for change, Sir Tony said Labour must become the “Radical Centre”, putting “policy first and politics last”.
He said this could include removing obstacles to business growth, welfare reform, action to tackle illegal immigration and a harnessing of artificial intelligence.
