TONY Blair has said he thinks there is a 30 per cent chance of Brexit being reversed.
Speaking in New York on Bloomberg TV, the former prime minister was asked what he thought the chances were of Brexit not happening.
He replied: “It’s really difficult to say. Most people would tell you, and I should say to you I think it is likely it will happen.
“On the other hand, I still have some difficulty seeing how, after the General Election, which produced a hung parliament in the UK, this Government is going to get its form of Brexit through, because I think there are a lot of Labour MPs who will oppose it, and a lot of Conservative MPs who will oppose a hard Brexit.
“So there’s maybe, I sometimes say, a roundabout 30 per cent chance that it’s changed.
“But the truth is a lot will depend on how the debate develops over this year.”
Blair’s former adviser Darren Murphy went even further. Speaking at debate in London, hosted by the Dods group, he said May wouldn’t have the votes to get her repeal bill though Parliament. Murphy, who was assistant political secretary to the former Labour leader, said he believed Jeremy Corbyn would end up voting against the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which aims to transfer European law on to the UK statute book on the day after Britain leaves the EU on March 30, 2019.
Asked whether the Government will manage to agree a deal with the EU before then, Murphy said: “I don’t think Brexit will happen. I don’t think the Government has the votes.”
Corbyn ordered his MPs to vote against the EU (Withdrawal Bill) when it had its second reading in the Commons last week, claiming it represented an unprecedented “power grab” by the Government.
Asked how he thought Labour would act when the bill returns for its crucial third reading, Murphy said: “I think Labour will vote against this particular piece of legislation. I don’t think that’s the same as voting against Brexit.”
He added that opposition to the bill would mean it’s unlikely to get through “unless it’s very heavily amended.”
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