Blair says UK must prepare for a second Brexit referendum
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is to say that the UK and EU should prepare for a second referendum because parliament is unlikely to be able to agree on a Brexit deal.
Blair will say it is perverse that the UK and the EU are preparing for a potentially economically damaging Brexit without any deal, but not another referendum.
“We know the options for Brexit. Parliament will have to decide on one of them. If Parliament can’t then it should decide to go back to the people,” Blair will say.
“Now should be the time of preparation – parliament to make sure it can canvass the options in (a) sensible manner, one by one, to reach agreement on an option or a referendum; Europe to ensure that if Britain is ready to think again, Europe is ready also to think again,” Blair will say in a speech in London today.
Blair will say that the EU should reform the bloc to make it more attractive for the UK to remain a member.
An offer by the EU to reform would show “that the political leadership of Europe and Britain had listened to the underlying concerns of those who voted (for) Brexit, not disrespecting the concerns but meeting them in a way which is not damaging”
On Tuesday parliament were set to hold a vote on the Brexit deal Theresa May had negotiated with the EU, but the vote was cancelled as it became clear the Prime Minister did not have the numbers needed to win.
May then survived a vote of no confidence of the parliamentary Conservative party, but still faces significant opposition from her own back benches and will be hard pressed to get a deal through parliament.