No-deal must be ruled out, says Blair

Tony Blair has urged Labour to ensure a no-deal Brexit is ruled out completely – including if upcoming EU trade talks turn “ugly” – before agreeing to an election.

The former Labour prime minister called on party leader Jeremy Corbyn to ensure no-deal is entirely off the table as an option, and not only until January.

The prime minister is due to ask MPS today to give him a general election on December 12.

Under the Fixed-terms Parliament Act, he requires a two-thirds Commons majority – making Labour the linchpin in approving a pre-christmas polling date.

Mr Blair said, even if the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) ends up being signed off by Parliament, the future negotiations with Brussels over a post-brexit trading arrangement were likely to end in a no-deal scenario.

Mr Johnson’s deal has agreed terms over a divorce payment to the EU, rights for EU citizens living in Britain and how to avoid a hard border in Ireland.

If ratified, the UK will enter into a transition period until December 2020 where it will continue to obey European rules while a new trading agreement is thrashed out.

Should a trade deal prove elusive, Britain could be forced to revert to World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms with the EU – known more commonly as no-deal.

Mr Blair told BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour: “The sensible thing for him (Mr Corbyn) to say to Boris Johnson is, ‘Yes, I’ll agree to your general election, but you’ve got to agree to timetable proper scrutiny of your Bill and allow us to amend that so that we rule out no-deal as the outcome of the future negotiation’.

“Because otherwise Jeremy Corbyn hasn’t prevented no-deal. He can make that happen.”

Picture: PA. Tony Blair.