AWAY WITH THE FAIRIES
Delusional and messianic, Tony Blair exhorts Remainers to ‘rise up and revolt’ against Brexit vote
Tony Blair was accused of trying to undermine democracy last night after he delivered an extraordinary appeal to Remainers to ‘rise up’ and revolt against Brexit.
In a brazen attempt to re-enter the British political arena, the former prime minister insisted it was ‘not inevitable’ that the UK will leave the European Union – because the public might change their minds.
And he made the incendiary claim that people only voted to leave last June because they did not understand the true cost of walking out.
Mr Blair said it should be the ‘mission’ of progressives to persuade Leave voters to shift their view by highlighting ‘all the pain’ that will ensue if we leave. ‘This is not the time for retreat, indifference or despair; but the time to rise up in defence of what we believe,’ he added.
Last night Leave campaigners accused him of astonishing arrogance, with some Remainers even calling his intervention ‘staggeringly unhelpful’.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson led the backlash, saying: ‘I urge the British people to rise up and turn off the TV next time Blair comes on with his condescending campaign.’ Former Tory party chairman Lord Tebbit said: ‘Tony Blair should go back to doing what he does best – making money and crawling up the backsides of foreign governments.’
And Michael Gove added: ‘Tony Blair should respect the result and work with the Government to make a success of Brexit instead of trying to undermine British democracy.’
It came as polling found that 68 per cent of voters want ministers to get on with implementing the EU referendum result. Significantly, the ICM poll found that more Remain voters agree than disagree, at 42 per cent compared with 33 per cent.
A separate survey showed 74 per cent of the public view Mr Blair unfavourably, compared with just 14 per cent who like him. Remain supporters are also heavily against him.
Mr Blair made his intervention in front of a pro-Europe audience at Bloomberg’s London headquarters – the same venue where David Cameron announced plans for an In-out referendum four years ago.
The former Labour leader said that when people voted last year they had not understood the full cost of withdrawal, which included the potential break-up of the UK.
‘I accept right now there is no widespread appetite to re-think,’ he said. ‘But the people voted without knowledge of the true terms of Brexit. As these terms become clear, it is their right to change their mind. our mission is to persuade them to do so.’ He said that in the absence of any effective opposition, Remainers would have to form a cross-party movement to keep Britain in the EU.
In an attack on Jeremy Corbyn, he said: ‘The debilitation of the Labour Party is the facilitator of Brexit. I hate to say that, but it is true. What this means is that we have to build a movement which stretches across party lines.’
Mr Blair also insisted his decision not to apply transitional immigration controls in 2004, when Eastern European countries joined the EU, had not contributed to the Brexit vote – saying the real immigration rise came several years later.
He denounced hardline Leave campaigners as ‘ideologues’ pursuing ‘Brexit at any cost’, which would leave millions worse off. But Mr Johnson accused him of ‘insulting the intelligence of the electorate’, adding: ‘This is the guy who would have taken our country into the euro with ... catastrophic consequences.’
Mr Blair’s intervention was also criticised by many on the Remain side. Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas called it ‘staggeringly unhelpful’ to those who still backed the Remain campaign. ‘To be perfectly frank it would be better if Blair butted out and left this debate to people who haven’t betrayed the trust of British people,’ she said.
A Labour source said: ‘no wonder we are still trying to recover from Tony Blair’s legacy when he has such contempt for democracy.’
However, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: ‘Tony Blair is right. The challenge now is to persuade people to change their mind.’
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