Give the man credit. Tony Blair has achieved a goal that even a week ago seemed impossible, and which he scarcely managed in office: he has brought the Labour party together in sweet, harmonious unity. Thanks to him, Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and the man they hope to replace, Keir Starmer, are singing in unison, joined in a chorus of denunciation – of one T Blair.

Give the triple election-winner further credit. This is a political professional who still knows how to command the news cycle. Cannily timing the release of his nearly 6,000-word essay on the future of Britain, and the failings of Labour, to coincide with the parliamentary recess, he secured for himself massive coverage across all platforms over several days.

What’s more, the text is clear, accessible and analytically useful. There are memorable images, including the depiction of heads of government as bus drivers. When conventional leaders reach a brick wall, they stop and debate for a few hours how to get around it. The likes of Donald Trump accelerate and slam right through it: “Yes, there are bits flying off the bus … the passengers feel mildly nauseous,” writes Blair, but the US president has shown “efficacy” – and voters like it.

The temptation many succumb to when Blair makes an intervention like this is to play the man, not the ball, by holding that the single word “Iraq” disqualifies Blair from pronouncing on any subject at any time. As it happens, Iraq is relevant, but as part of a genuine response to the arguments Blair makes, not as an excuse to ignore them.

According to the former PM, “two epochal changes” are under way and Britain is not prepared for either of them. The first is geopolitical, with the world increasingly dominated by two superpowers, the US and China, with India not far behind. And yet what’s odd is that, for all the changes visible in this age of Trump – including the breakdown, if not deliberate wrecking, of the post-1945 order – Blair’s view has not shifted from the one he held........

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