Tony Blair, the ex prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who was also the Labour Party's most successful general election winner, is a man who just can't stop himself. Despite the fact that he is no longer popular, he has now decided that there is no one out there who can pick up the battered flag of the EU Remain Campaign.
It was found stricken on the field of battle by the arch political scavenger himself, and now raised to the ramparts again with the "mission" to persuade Britons to "rise up" and change their minds on Brexit.
He of course has a very mixed reputation in the UK - war criminal to some, and called 'Bliar' - but still a hero to many Labour members who can only dream about the electoral successes he led them to. This means that his vow to lead Britain to reject the final Brexit terms when they come before Parliament, is as likely to strengthen the resolve of many as garner support .... particularly in his own party's left.
His arguments are that on Brexit:
While domestically:
Blair has also claimed that the context for the pro-Scottish independence case is "much more credible" after the Brexit vote.
I guess the only thing I can do is tackle these claims in order.
On Blair's Brexit claims:
Brexit 1 - Well as we haven't actually started, let alone concluded negotiations yet, that's true. However much discussion during the campaign made it clear what the general likely outcomes would be for each scenario .... so disingenuous to say the least.
Brexit 2 - No idea what he's going on about. Just twisting data to make that look true. He knows full we that it was a deliberate and hidden Labour Policy by his government to let immigration rip.
On Brexit 3 - Well so far that has proved to be a crap prediction, and in any case actually referred to 'access to the single European market' .... not leaving the EU.
On Brexit 4 - The Pound/Euro exchange rate was at a similar level to now between 2009 and the middle of 2011, and many economists believe that against a battery of currencies (including the US dollar), the Pound was overvalued and due to be adjusted by the markets sooner rather than later anyway.
On Blair's Scottish Independence claim:
Again, it was New Labour, led by Blair and his fellow Scottish Cabinet big beasts (Gordon Brown, and Lord Irvine), and following his predecessor John Smith's policies on the subject, who totally unnecessarily introduced the devolution model that has led to the Labour Party losing all but one of its seats in Scotland, and Britain to the verge of break up.
So I think it still safe to say that when you watch Mr Blair's lips moving, you might want to put your sceptical ear plugs in.
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| Blair Praying For A Political Comeback? ....... |
It was found stricken on the field of battle by the arch political scavenger himself, and now raised to the ramparts again with the "mission" to persuade Britons to "rise up" and change their minds on Brexit.
He of course has a very mixed reputation in the UK - war criminal to some, and called 'Bliar' - but still a hero to many Labour members who can only dream about the electoral successes he led them to. This means that his vow to lead Britain to reject the final Brexit terms when they come before Parliament, is as likely to strengthen the resolve of many as garner support .... particularly in his own party's left.
His arguments are that on Brexit:
- People voted without knowing the full costs of leaving.
- The scale of EU immigration to Britain was falsely portrayed. That on analysis, less than 12% of the net immigration total is from EU.
- That the current chancellor of the Exchequer was telling us that leaving the single market would be - "and I quote - catastrophic"
- As our currency is down around 12% against the Euro and 20% against the dollar, this represents the international financial market's assessment of our future prosperity ie we are going to be poorer.
While domestically:
Blair has also claimed that the context for the pro-Scottish independence case is "much more credible" after the Brexit vote.
I guess the only thing I can do is tackle these claims in order.
On Blair's Brexit claims:
Brexit 1 - Well as we haven't actually started, let alone concluded negotiations yet, that's true. However much discussion during the campaign made it clear what the general likely outcomes would be for each scenario .... so disingenuous to say the least.
Brexit 2 - No idea what he's going on about. Just twisting data to make that look true. He knows full we that it was a deliberate and hidden Labour Policy by his government to let immigration rip.
On Brexit 3 - Well so far that has proved to be a crap prediction, and in any case actually referred to 'access to the single European market' .... not leaving the EU.
On Brexit 4 - The Pound/Euro exchange rate was at a similar level to now between 2009 and the middle of 2011, and many economists believe that against a battery of currencies (including the US dollar), the Pound was overvalued and due to be adjusted by the markets sooner rather than later anyway.
On Blair's Scottish Independence claim:
Again, it was New Labour, led by Blair and his fellow Scottish Cabinet big beasts (Gordon Brown, and Lord Irvine), and following his predecessor John Smith's policies on the subject, who totally unnecessarily introduced the devolution model that has led to the Labour Party losing all but one of its seats in Scotland, and Britain to the verge of break up.
So I think it still safe to say that when you watch Mr Blair's lips moving, you might want to put your sceptical ear plugs in.
Most politicians just can't help themselves. I remember Denis Skinner saying he would take a workers wages and retire at 65 when he became an MP. Now he is in his 70's and won't stand down. They begin to think that they are indispensable to the national life. The recently deceased Gerald Kaufman was exactly the same.
ReplyDeleteSo perhaps your being harsh on Blair who is only doing what they all do. David Milliband has recently done something similar.
Your probably right. I was aware of Mr Skinner and his promise .... i may have mentioned it in a post sometime. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteBlair and Brown have both reared their heads recently. It seems they just can't accept what utter failures they both turned out to be. Mass immigration led to Brexit and Devolution led to the SNP taking Scotland over.
ReplyDeleteBoth policies championed by these two men.
Ain't that the truth. Thanks for the comment.
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