FURY AT BLAIR BID TO WRECK BREXIT
Ex-PM links anti-EU movements to rise of Nazism in the 1930s
TONY Blair last night called for Brexit to be postponed while a fresh attempt was made to “strike a bargain” and keep Britain in the EU.
The former Labour premier claimed the UK could negotiate a new membership deal with a reformed EU.
He also said it could address the concerns of Leave voters by tackling “the issue of immigration decisively”.
Mr Blair compared new anti-EU political movements emerging across Europe to the rise of the Nazis and other extremists in the 1930s.
His incendiary new speech sparked fury among Leavers, with one Brexit MP saying Mr Blair was “on another planet”.
Downing Street last night firmly rejected the call for a delay in Britain’s departure of the EU.
Theresa May’s spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has been clear that we are leaving the EU and that will take place on March 29, 2019.”
Mr Blair’s latest intervention in the
debate about Britain’s European future came on the eve of an EU Council summit in Brussels where Theresa May will discuss progress in the Brexit negotiations with the 27 other EU leaders.
Outraged senior Tory backbencher Philip Davies said: “The more he lectures the public about how wrong they are on Brexit the more it stiffens the resolve of the British people.
“He hasn’t yet twigged that he is as popular as a rattlesnake in a lucky dip.”
Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns, a supporter of the Brexit-backing pressure group Change Britain, said: “Tony Blair will never accept that the British people voted to take back control, and will try everything he can to prevent the UK from leaving the EU.
“There have been enough delays already. The public just want politicians to get on with delivering a clean Brexit.
“Blair would do well to respect the votes of 17.4 million people, rather than have the arrogance to believe their democratic wish should be overturned.”
And Peter Bone, another Tory MP, said: “Tony Blair is on another planet. What he is saying is antidemocratic – he needs to understand that the people have spoken.
Attitudes
“People who keep talking about new negotiations for an improved membership deal need to remember that David Cameron tried that and didn’t get very far.”
Nigel Evans, also a Leave-backing Tory MP, said: “Tony Blair appears to have spent so much time advising dubious foreign regimes that some of their anti-democratic attitudes rubbed off on him.
“Mr Blair once promised us a referendum on an EU treaty and then took the offer away. He should accept that he is partly responsible for Britain voting the way it did in 2016.
“Mr Blair is earning millions of pounds travelling the world and giving advice but we’re not paying and we won’t be listening to him.”
Mr Blair’s inflammatory remarks came in a speech at the Chatham House foreign affairs think-tank in London.
The former prime minister suggested that Mrs May should start planning to delay the March 2019 deadline for Brexit as a result of the political deadlock over the kind of deal the UK wants with Europe.
He argued there was still the chance for Britain and Europe to “strike a bargain” which could see the UK “staying in”.
“We should plan now for the possibility we need to extend the March 2019 deadline,” he said.
“Presently, we are drifting towards March 2019 with no clear negotiating position, no resolution of the Northern Ireland question, still vaguely hoping Europe will allow us access to the single market without abiding by its rules which it will never do, and with senior Cabinet members openly debating the merits of a negotiating position which ‘threatens’ Europe with a no-deal Brexit.
“This is the equivalent of holding a negotiation on the top floor of a high-rise building and ‘threatening’ to jump out of the window if our demands are not met.”
Mr Blair acknowledged that supporters of globalisation were under pressure from outspoken political groupings on the Right and Left campaigning against free trade, open-door migration and international cooperation.
He said: “Once it is clear the populism isn’t working because, ultimately, it offers only expressions of anger and not effective answers, the populists may double down, alleging that failure is the result of halfheartedness and that only more of the same will work.
“Who knows where the dynamic of that scenario takes us. Then the comparisons with the 1930s no longer seem far-fetched.”
Mr Blair continued: “Europe and Britain could strike a bargain which would see Europe reforming, which the European people plainly by their votes are demanding, and Britain staying in such a Europe.
“For Europe as well as for Britain, this means dealing with the issue of immigration decisively.” In an interview earlier, Mr Blair said it was a “huge myth” that he had allowed uncontrolled immigration.
He admitted: “It’s true we were in favour of freedom of movement within the European Union.”
But he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If I was back in office today I would be arguing we apply those rules much more toughly.”
AND so he looms into view, yesterday’s man desperate to reclaim the limelight. But if there is one man who is totally unfit to take the high moral ground in this country it is Tony Blair. His reputation lies in ashes. There are still those who believe he should be prosecuted as a war criminal.
If his utterly disastrous meddling in the affairs of the Middle East were not enough he is now using deliberately provocative and inflammatory language. Comparing the political landscape of today to the 1930s is dangerous talk, to say nothing of being totally inaccurate. Mr Blair seems to be objecting to the fact that Europe is belatedly waking up to the realisation that it is not a good idea to tear down your borders but border control is hardly the stuff of extremist politics. It operated across Europe until very recently and it is the lack of borders, not the control of them, that is causing such terrible problems now.
When in office Tony Blair and his cohorts cynically encouraged mass immigration into this country with the sole aim of calling the Conservatives racist if they objected. That is what has led to the situation we are facing today. It ill behoves Mr Blair to take time out from sucking up to rich dictators and plutocrats to start lecturing the rest of us about problems he created.