Last month Steerpike reported news that Tony Blair was plotting a return to Parliament. One of the many unwanted consequences of Covid was the former Prime Minister’s return to the spotlight, in part due to the work of his eponymous institute on issues like mass testing and vaccines. With polls suggesting that members of Starmer’s Labour now view their party’s ex-leader in a more favourable light, could a ‘de Gaulle-style comeback’ be on the cards?

Alas, the onetime premier – whose years out of office have been peppered with various gigs including JP Morgan, Zurich and UI Energy – appears to have now concluded that...