Blair would vote for Corbyn but says MPs must stop no-deal first

Former prime minister Tony Blair has said he would vote for Jeremy Corbyn at the next general election, as the Labour leader offered Leave voters a vision to transform Britain.

Mr Corbyn, holding a shadow cabinet meeting in Salford to plan the next steps to stop what he called Boris Johnson’s “dictatorial approach” to Parliament, said Leave-voting areas had suffered from austerity and decades of lack of investment.

He set out the party’s plan to block a no-deal Brexit.

Mr Blair, who resigned as prime minister in 2007, said he would face a “dilemma” in voting for Mr Corbyn.

Speaking at the Institute for Government in London yesterday he said Labour should not “fall into the elephant trap” of backing a general election if MPs cannot agree on Brexit.

He called for the party to throw its weight behind supporting legislation to prevent a no-deal Brexit, not a vote of no confidence in the government.

Asked if he would vote for Labour at the next general election, he said: “I personally believe so strongly on Brexit that I would do virtually anything to stop it.” Pushed on whether that “included voting for Jeremy Corbyn”, he said: “Yeah, including that.”

Mr Corbyn said: “It is our mission to have serious trade relationships with Europe in the future, in or out.

“Our position all along has been one of understanding the decision made in 2016 but also doing our very best as a party, as a movement, to protect jobs and give us the opportunity to invest in areas, many of whom voted leave, who had seen no investment for 20 or 30 years.”

Labour, he added, would give people “a final say” on the relationship with Europe.

“I personally believe so strongly on Brexit that I would do virtually anything to stop it. TONY BLAIR