What’s with the sudden return of all the old prime ministers?

It sometimes seems that barely a week goes by without Tony Blair or John Major, Gordon Brown or Theresa May popping up to issue a warning, writes Andrew Woodcock

Blair’s return has inevitably sparked allegations that he is trying to create a new centrist party

(PA)

There may be shortages of many things at the moment but one thing Britain doesn’t seem in any risk of running out of is former leaders with ideas about how the country should be run.

It sometimes seems that barely a week goes by without Tony Blair or John Major, Gordon Brown or Theresa May, popping up to issue a warning about the mistakes and missteps of their successors.

The trend came to a head on Thursday with a full day’s conference hosted by Blair in London with the grand title of The Future of Britain, at which a variety of policy wonks, commentators and ex-MPs opined at length on the challenges facing the country.