Rise and rise of the Tony Blair Institute

With more than 800 staff in 40 countries, is the former prime minister now more powerful than he was in No 10?

- Kiran Stacey

As prime minister, Tony Blair oversaw a few hundred Downing Street staff and one country. Sixteen years later, he is responsible for more than 800 staff who help advance his policies in nearly 40 countries.

Since leaving No 10, the former prime minister has arguably become more powerful thanks to the work of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), which has exploded in size and revenue during the last few years. Its accounts show it made over $81m in revenue in 2021, a 78% increase on the previous year.

With the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, turning to Blair as an unofficial source of advice, the influence of both the former prime minister and his institute could soon grow further.

Blair told the Financial Times: "I want [the institute] to be entrepreneurial, agile and give governments good solid advice," adding that he wanted the TBI to outlive him.

Critics accuse Blair of using the institute as a vehicle to advance his own ideological views and the causes of some of its corporate backers.

A spokesperson for the leftwing campaign group Momentum said: "It's deeply worrying to hear of the Tony Blair Institute's extensive influence in Keir Starmer's Labour. This is an organisation bankrolled by billionaires, which continues to advise and take money from the murderous Saudi government. What's worse, its solutions reflect these corporate interests, with Tony Blair laughably claiming that Britain's economic crisis is a result of too much tax and spend."