Tony Blair to rally Remainers to keep Britain in EU
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is set to rally Remainers to “rise up in defence of what we believe” in an attempt to change the British public’s mind over Brexit.
The former Labour leader will say in a speech on Friday: “People voted without knowledge of the true terms of Brexit. As these terms become clear, it is their right to change their mind. Our mission is to persuade them to do so.”
Blair is putting himself in opposition to the Prime Minister Theresa May who is seeking a so-called ‘hard Brexit’ by leaving the European single market and customs union and current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who said that the party will not “frustrate” Brexit and will trigger Article 50.
Last June, the country voted in a referendum to leave the EU by 52% to 48%.
Previously, Blair told the New Statesman that Brexit could be stopped if the British people decided that, “having seen what it means, the pain-gain, cost-benefit analysis doesn’t stack up”.
In his speech, which is organised by Open Britain, a pro-EU group, he will criticise the current Conservative government as a “government for Brexit”.
He will say: “We do not argue for Britain in Europe because we are citizens of nowhere. We argue for it precisely because we are proud citizens of our country who believe that in the 21st century we should maintain our partnership with the biggest political union and largest commercial market right on our doorstep; not in diminution of our national interest, but in satisfaction of it.
“This is a government for Brexit, of Brexit and dominated by Brexit. It is a mono-purpose political entity. Those driving this always wanted a hard Brexit. Indeed, even the term ‘hard Brexit’ requires amendment. The policy is now Brexit at any cost.”
Blair, who led the country for a decade and won three elections, will say that the Brexit vote was motivated by immigration, but that leaving the EU will not actually reduce immigration significantly.
“There is, in some parts of the country, a genuine concern about numbers from Europe – real pressures on services and wages. But for many people, the core of the immigration question – and one which I fully accept is a substantial issue – is immigration from non-European countries especially when from different cultures in which assimilation and potential security threats can be an issue.
“Nonetheless, we have moved in a few months from a debate about what sort of Brexit, involving a balanced consideration of all the different possibilities, to the primacy of one consideration – namely controlling immigration from the EU – without any real discussion as to why and when Brexit doesn’t affect the immigration people most care about.”