TONY Blair has called on Labour supporters who can no longer back his party to vote for a Remain party in this month’s European elections.
Labour’s policy is to push for an alternative, softer form of Brexit to Theresa May’s deal but if that does not materialise they will seek a general election. If that possibility is ruled out, they will back a referendum on a Brexit deal.
The party does not back the outright revocation of Article 50, which is supported by the SNP, Greens and the LibDems.
READ MORE: Tony Blair compares Yessers to Brexiteers in bizarre interview
Blair told Sky yesterday: “I do come across people who cannot vote for Labour, in which case I say ‘don’t stay at home – vote for any of the other parties’.
“At the end of this there’s going to be a totting up and ... it’s important that the Remain side comes out because MPs will be making decisions based on that.”
He spoke out as opinion polls suggest Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party could win the European elections in the UK with more than a third of the vote.
An Opinium survey for the Observer yesterday placed it on 34%, when people across the UK were asked how they intended to vote on May 23, with Labour slipping to 21% and the Conservatives collapsing to just 11% – behind the LibDems on 12%.
Blair also hit out at the Brexit position being discussed in cross-party talks between the Government and Labour, which could see the UK sign up to customs union membership but not single market membership.
He said: “It’s a fallacy because the soft Brexit Theresa May has tried to articulate and the Labour position won’t work.
“That soft Brexit is never going to command anything other than a tiny amount of support. The people who want Brexit will say it’s a betrayal and the people who want to remain will say it’s completely pointless.”
READ MORE: SNP hits out at Tony Blair for saying indyref2 could 'damage' UK
Meanwhile, Farage told the BBC that he wants the UK to leave the EU without a deal, which he believes would put the UK in a better position to then negotiate one.
“The only way we can deliver the democratic will of the people is to leave on WTO terms and I’ll tell you something, once we do that, the EU will be banging our door down to have a sensible tariff-free deal,” he said.
But shadow international trade secretary, Barry Gardiner, commented: “The referendum was about leaving the EU. At that time there was no talk of no deal, there was no talk of going onto WTO terms.”
READ MORE: BBC has explaining to do over record Farage Question Time appearance
Tory Education Secretary Damian Hinds suggested there would be no formal Tory launch for the European elections.
He said: “I’m not sure we need a launch. We have been very clear about he outcome we want. We don’t actually want MEPs to take up their seats – we want people to vote Conservative but we don’t want them to have to take their seats.”
Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said a vote for the SNP was a vote to stop Brexit.
“With Brexit-backing parties leading in the polls in other parts of the UK, it is vital that people in Scotland send a clear message of rejection to the Brexit brigade and the damaging impact their plans will have on our vital public services, jobs and living standards,” he added.
“It is becoming clear beyond doubt that Scotland’s voice and interests have been ignored throughout the whole Brexit process. It is unsurprising that support for independence is growing – only through independence will Scotland be able to shape its own future.”
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