Plan B Forum

Tony Blair has admitted he is baffled at the popularity of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK and Bernie Sanders in the United States.



But despite admitting he does not 'fully understand politics right now' he warned the US Democrats not to elect the left-wing outsider as their presidential candidate because like Mr Corbyn in Britain he would fail to win a General Election.

Attempting to explain the rise in popularity of the maverick politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, Mr Blair suggested it was partly caused by an anger at elites and a desire to elect people who would 'rattle the cage'.

The former Labour prime minister, who won three successive elections in the UK, accused Mr Sanders and Mr Corbyn of making unrealistic pledges and suggested this was also behind the sharp rise in mavericks, including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

'It's very similar to the pitch of Jeremy Corbyn,' Mr Blair said of Mr Sander's popularity. 'Free tuition fees: well, that's great, but someone's going to have pay for it. An end to war, but there are wars.

'In the end it is about getting the support to win in order to do things for the people who desperately need help,' he added in an interview with the Guardian and Financial Times on a visit to the US.

Mr Blair is supporting Mr Sander's rival Hilary Clinton in the US presidential race - an unsurprising endorsement since he worked closely with Bill Clinton during their time in office.

Admitting he struggled to comprehend the forces of modern politics, Mr Blair said: 'One of the strangest things about politics at the moment – and I really mean it when I say I'm not sure I fully understand politics right now, which is an odd thing to say, having spent my life in it – is when you put the question of electability as a factor in your decision to nominate a leader, it's how small the numbers are that this is the decisive factor. That sounds curious to me.'

And in an interview with Fox TV this morning, he added: 'I've got such a long experience in politics but looking in politics today - whether on the left or the right - maybe I just don't understand it anymore.'