Find your voice and kill off Brexit, Blair tells MPS
TONY BLAIR, who called on MPS and ministers to rise up against Brexit on the eve of a vital Commons vote, was branded “beyond parody” for demanding tougher controls on migration yesterday.
The former Labour prime minister told politicians to “find the leadership within yourself ” ahead of the Brexit debate in Parliament and offer voters an alternative to leaving.
He claimed people wanted a new party that considers broader issues and not just the decision to leave the EU, fuelling claims he is on the verge of setting one up himself.
However, he was branded a hypocrite by ministers for calling for tighter immigration rules after he failed to set limits when in office – something his own report concluded contributed to the vote to leave.
Speaking on the BBC’S Andrew Marr Show, Mr Blair, whose think tank came up with the plan to curb migration over the weekend, said politicians should show leadership and resist the urge to
support the Government’s Brexit plan at every turn.
He said: “If you believe there is a better way through … there are better ways of dealing with the country’s problems than Brexit, then at least try and explain that to the country.
“Find the leadership within yourself to say to people there is a different and better way. What I’m saying to those in positions of political leadership and those members of Parliament at the moment is guys, this is not an ordinary decision, so make this one where you’re prepared to go out and if you think that there is a different and better way, put it before people and argue for it.”
His plea came on the eve of what will be a difficult few days for the Government as it attempts to get the EU Withdrawal Bill through its first stage in the House of Commons.
Labour is planning to oppose the bill, which seeks to transpose EU law onto UK statute books, amid concerns about how much power ministers will be given.
However, Ken Clarke, the most ardent opponent of Brexit on the Tory benches, claimed it was “hopeless” to expect that Brexit could be reversed. He told Sky News that the country was set on leaving and opposition was a waste of time. And Sir Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, called Mr Blair a hypocrite, accusing him of being responsible for high levels of EU migration in the first place. Brandon Lewis, the Immigration Minister, tweeted: “Comments by Tony Blair this weekend are beyond parody in light of his actions as PM.”
But Mr Blair refused to apologise and said the country had changed as a result of the economic crash, leading to a need for tighter controls. Writing in The Sunday Times, he said: “Intelligent politics takes account of such change.”
He called on Jeremy Corbyn to oppose leaving altogether and suggest alternative ways to address the concerns which led to the leave vote.
Mr Blair also appeared to call for a second referendum, saying: “This thing will go ahead unless it starts to become obvious that the public is having second thoughts.” He added: “Surely it’s a very common sense thing to say that we take our final irrevocable decision once we see what the alternative is.”
He did not rule out the formation of a new political party, saying: “There is a huge amount of political energy out there in the country that is searching for a home. If the two main parties don’t give it a home it’s going to search for a different home.”