Tony Blair calls for second Brexit referendum to find ‘closure’
The former UK prime minister has urged British MPs to hold a second Brexit referendum to help bring an end to the chaotic withdrawal process.
With a little over two months to go until the March 29 deadline, former British prime minister Tony Blair has waded into the Brexit debate, urging MPs to hold a second referendum to bring ‘closure’ to a choatic process.
With the Brexit deadline looming ever-larger, Britain is yet to finalise a deal that will define the country’s future relationship with the EU after MPs in parliament overwhelmingly rejected Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement with Brussels.
‘I think if you have another referendum it really will bring closure,’ Blair told Reuters TV at the World Economic Forum in Davos. ‘People like myself accept if the country votes to leave again, that’s it.’
‘But I think if you leave without going back to the people, with this mess and in these circumstances, there will be even greater division.’
Theresa May fails to break Brexit deadlock
Following the rejection of her deal, MPs in parliament have failed to reach a consensus on an alternative strategy for Britain’s departure from the EU, with cross-party talks collapsing after May refused Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn’s request to rule out a no-deal Brexit.
Since then, there is growing support for a second Brexit referendum to be held as a way of breaking the Brexit deadlock in parliament.
Tony Blair calls for clarity on Britain’s future
During the interview in Davos, Blair argued that Britain should not leave the EU without first having clarity about its future relationship with the EU and believes that the Brexit deadline of March 29 should be pushed back if more time is needed to do so.
‘The idea that we can tumble out of the European Union without a deal, I mean this would be completely irresponsible and I’m sure that parliament won’t allow it,’ he said.
The former Labour leader also said that there is more than a 50/50 chance of a second referendum happening.
UK citizens voted back in the 2016 referendum by 52 percent to 48 percent to leave the EU.
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