We need Tory talent to fight the Blairites

Tony Blair’s call for a second EU referendum showcases the arguments that Remain will use in 2018: Brexit threatens the economy and the NHS is hemorrhaging foreign staff. Few voters trust Mr Blair enough to believe him, but his real audience is the EU, which could scupper the Brexit negotiations, and the MPS who could undermine the withdrawal legislation. The message to both is to play tough: if Brexit is perceived to be going badly, the voters might be persuaded to change their minds.

Mr Blair’s arguments, as always, are disingenuous. We still can’t judge Brexit’s impact on the economy because it hasn’t happened yet; all we do know is that the predicted economic crash was nonsense. As for the reported fall in recruitment of some EU staff, it’s important to remember that EU citizens only account for about six per cent of staff in an English health service that, if managed properly, shouldn’t be reliant on foreign workers anyway. Why is it? Partly for the same reason that housing or teachers are in short supply: Mr Blair’s policy of welcoming cheap labour to Britain in the Noughties put enormous pressure on infrastructure and services, creating a cycle of demand and supply that drew more and more migrants to an overcrowded Britain.

Indeed, one of the biggest causes of Brexit was New Labour. Mr Blair led us further into Europe without proper consultation; and although Gordon Brown vetoed membership of the euro, he signed the Lisbon Treaty without first putting it to the public. New Labour’s obsession with centralisation and regulation fed popular resentment towards the status quo. The lingering influence of Blairites today points to an elite that has learnt nothing. Alan Milburn and Lord Adonis have both resigned from government jobs in protest at Brexit, jobs the Tories should never have allowed these faded bureaucrats to hold.

The Tories must let a Blairite cabal monopolise debate. After Mr Blair spoke on the Today programme yesterday, he was answered not by a Cabinet Minister or even a sitting MP but by Lord Lamont, who last served as a minister in 1993. Lord Lamont did a superb job, as ever, but the Government has to join the fray, lest Remain makes ground by sheer attrition. It is time to promote some Tory talent dedicated to making the case for Brexit just as doggedly as Mr Blair opposes it. We accept letters by post, fax and email only. Please include name, address, work and home telephone numbers.

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