I first voted in 1997 – what I’d give for a Labour leader like Tony Blair today

Tony Blair is getting about a bit, isn’t he? An appearance on Good Morning Britain with his old chum Alastair Campbell, a lead column in the New Statesman, a clutch of social media videos featuring his long lockdown hair, variously described as reminiscent of Peter Stringfellow, Gandalf or Albert Steptoe, depending on how generous you’re feeling – and the announcement of an appearance at the Hay Festival.

So what’s going on? Is he on manoeuvres? Has he sensed a potential opening at the top of the Labour Party? Is he considering starting a new party all of his own called the “Broad Base Appeal Centre-Left Centre-Right Vote Hoover Party”. Or perhaps something more catchy, but you get the drift.

Blair is only 68 years old which, by Biden’s standards, is young and vigorous. He has been advising various political figures in the background for some time, and now perhaps he feels he has detoxified himself sufficiently to foreground himself again. There is a sense that he views his political career as “unfinished business”. The ambition is palpable.

I am going to be honest and say that I am a Blair fan, mainly for the want of anyone better currently around. But also 1997 was the first general election I could vote in, and I was happy the Labour party won with a landslide. I felt proud to be British and excited for the future. I know I am falling into a nostalgia trap here to some extent – I was 18, of course I felt excited. But also there was a sense that the grown-ups were in charge. You may have hated him, but for the most part he seemed competent and under control, even as he made his mistakes.

A good friend of mine worked with Blair as one of his closest advisers when he was prime minister. She once told me that even though she knew he had his flaws, he was always, without fail, the most prepared person in the room – any room, any time. To be honest, given what we’ve got at the top now, I’d take that again any day.