Blair’s Brexit revolt insults voters, says Boris
Former PM calls for broad movement to take place of Corbyn’s weak Labour and make the case for Europe
BORIS JOHNSON yesterday accused Tony Blair of “insulting the intelligence” of the British public after the former prime minister urged people to “rise up” against Brexit.
Mr Blair yesterday attacked both the Government and Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party as he warned that the UK is heading for “Brexit at any cost”.
Speaking in the same London location where David Cameron announced his plan to hold an EU referendum, Mr Blair said voters had the “right to change their minds”. He pledged to form a cross-party movement to fight Brexit, although he insisted he was not trying to build a new political party.
Mr Blair reserved his strongest criticism for Mr Corbyn, saying the “debilitation of the Labour Party” that he once led was now a “facilitator” for Brexit.
He admitted that he was likely to face a “volley of abuse” for his comments but said Britain was a “free country” and he has a right to his opinions.
He spoke as an ICM poll found that 68 per cent of all voters, and a majority of Remain voters, now want the Government to get on with implementing the EU referendum result.
Mr Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said: “We heard all these arguments last year. Not a thing has changed. I think it is insulting the intelligence of the British people to say they got it wrong.
“Be in no doubt that the people of this country were told all sorts of claptrap about the economic consequences of leaving the EU. The very opposite has happened.
“As for Tony Blair, whatever his merits as a former prime minister, this is the guy who would have taken our country into the euro with what would have been catastrophic consequences; this is the guy who dragooned the UK into the Iraq war on a completely false prospectus ...
“I urge the British people to rise up and turn off the TV next time Tony Blair comes on with his condescending campaign.”
Speaking earlier at Bloomberg, Mr Blair said: “Yes, the British people voted to leave Europe, and I agree the will of the people should prevail. I accept right now there is no widespread appetite to rethink.
“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.”
He had criticism for Theresa May as he continued: “Nine months ago she and the Chancellor [Philip Hammond] were telling us that leaving would be bad for the country, its economy, its security and its place in the world. Today, it is apparently a ‘once in a generation opportunity’ for greatness.”
And Labour was not spared. Mr Blair said he was setting up his movement in the “absence of an Opposition which looks capable on the polls of beating the Government”. He added: “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; and devise new ways of communication.”
It came after Baroness Chakrabarti, the shadow attorney general, told the BBC’s Question Time programme on Thursday night that she expected peers of all parties to water down the Brexit Bill in the House of Lords.