‘Rise up’, Blair tells Remainers
Former British prime minister Tony Blair is expected to make a speech today in which he will call on opponents of Brexit to “rise up in defence of what we believe”.
He plans to say that people voted for Brexit “without knowledge of the true terms” and will say he wants to “build support for finding a way out from the present rush over the cliff’s edge”.
People have the right to change their minds, he will say in his first major address since the referendum – and he wants to persuade them to do so by explaining why Brexit will be “cause real damage to the country and its citizens”.
“I don’t know if we can succeed, but I do know we will suffer a rancorous verdict from future generations if we do not try,” he will say.
Mr Blair plans to say that the current government is abusing the “mantle of patriotism”, and that Remainers do not want to stay in the EU because they are unpatriotic, but because they believe it is best for the UK. He will also accuse the May government of being “mono-purpose” and entirely dominated by the issue of pursuing a Brexit “at any cost”.
The speech will cause controversy at a time when both of the largest parties are pushing for the article 50 trigger to go ahead and Prime Minister Theresa May has stated in her Brexit white paper that “the losers have the responsibility to respect the legitimacy of the outcome” so “the country comes together”.
The MP Iain Duncan Smith, who backs Brexit, has said Blair is "arrogant" and "out of touch".
The talk is to be hosted by the Open Britain campaign, the successors to the official remain campaign, which has mostly campaigned for a ‘soft Brexit’ since the referendum result.
