Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote a letter as a young politician in 1982 that reveals how he came to reject the "stifling" views of Karl Marx, the founder of communism.

The New Statesman on Thursday published details of the 22-page handwritten letter that Blair wrote to then Labour leader Michael Foot, in which he criticizes both the "old" right and the hard left.

Prime Minister Tony Blair leaves 10 Downing Street. Blair wrote a letter as a young politician in 1982 that reveals how he came to reject the "stifling" views of Karl Marx, the founder of communism. [AFP]

Blair, who was 29, expresses his admiration for Foot, who the following year led Labour to a crushing general election defeat, and his enthusiasm for "radical, socialist policies".

Blair begins the letter, dated July 28, 1982 - which historian Robert Taylor found while researching a history of the Parliamentary Labour Party - by describing how he had been inspired by Marx before rejecting his teachings.

"I actually did trouble to read Marx first hand. I found it illuminating in so many ways; in particular, my perception of the relationship between people and the society in which they live was irreversibly altered," he wrote.

"But ultimately it was stifling because it sought to embrace in its philosophy every facet of existence. That, of course, is its attraction to many."

The letter was written after Blair had just been trounced in the Beaconsfield parliamentary by-election, losing his deposit.

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