Tony Blair has been accused of “unacceptable” behaviour after it emerged he has been briefing Emmanuel Macron on how to force Britain to stay in the EU.
The former Labour prime minister believes that if the EU stands its ground over the Brexit deal, Parliament will cave in and accept a customs union - which would keep Britain yoked to Brussels - or a second referendum that could cancel Brexit altogether.
Sources in Paris confirmed to The Telegraph that Mr Blair had been speaking to the French President about Brexit.
He is reported to have told Mr Macron to “hold firm” and wait for events to play out in London that end in Britain staying in the EU.
Peter Bone, a Eurosceptic Conservative MP, said: “It is totally unacceptable for a former prime minister to go around the heads of European countries and undermine the Government’s position. I’m not sure we could find another time in modern history when this has happened.
//I suspect that any politician high enough to have any meaningful effect on Brexit will be well aware of Mr Blair, and what he is, and more importantly, what he is not - someone of any influence whatsoever. //
I think it's a mistake to under-estimate the influence he has. If he were a nonentity, he wouldn't be regularly asked for his opinions.
VB or traitor would imply that he was acting in France's (in this case) interests and against Britain's. Whereas I think what he's hoping for is to act in Britain's best interests ... so forlorn dreamer would be a better term.
Baldric //OPer, do you have a creditable link please?//
I pasted it in directly from the Telegraph because unless you have subscription you may not be able to read it.
Btw. You don't loom large in my life, but I did think of you earlier today when I read a favourable review of this book in the London Review of Books, do you know of it?
so you don't know about our intention to leave the EU then ellipsis, Right oh! It's been in the news a little, you should try and keep up on current affairs.
lb there are LOADS of loathsome individuals doing everything they can to thwart Brexit, and sadly, I fear they are winning. Total waste of time having a referendum and we would have heard no more of it if the stay vote had won !!
Peter Bone speaks of an attempt on Mr Blair's part to (quote), "...undermine the Government’s position." What Government position? We don't even have a Cabinet position!
You can't force the UK stay. Only a fool would take that advice and be seen to the whole world and go down in history as a bunch of rearholes. It's relying on traitorous MP abusing their position and refusing to do as demanded by the nation. Not a sensible strategy. No, they're insisting on no deal and clean break because they have no ability to accept anything other than their own way. Blair or no Blair.
So free speech and opinion is being destroyed in this increasing polarised country - Little Britain that it is becoming. You may not like what TB says but he's free to express his opinion and duly advise.
Every time anyone raises their head above the parapet (and I know Blair for one is not popular anyway - all those guilt ridden Tory voters who once deserted the cause, and those Corbynite “real labour” zealots) the easy out to try to shut them up is “it’s not the will of the people” etc etc. End of argument.
It is one thing to speak openly and freely, but quite another to covertly advise on how to try to get the democratic decision of your own people overturned.