Furious Theresa May has accused Tony Blair of wrecking her last chance to save her Brexit deal – “insulting” the office he once held. She said the ex-PM’s backing for a second referendum was deliberately sabotaging her bid to make EU leaders compromise on the Irish backstop. Her explosive statement said: “There are too many people who want to subvert the process for their own political interests rather than act in the national interest. “For Tony Blair to go to Brussels and seek to undermine our negotiations by advocating a second referendum is an insult to the office he once held and the people he once served. “We cannot, as he would, abdicate responsibility for this decision.” Mr Blair has sounded out many EU leaders and on Friday said the “most divisive” thing the PM could do was to keep forcing through a deal that has no support in the country. A No10 source hit back, saying: “The PM understands the duties and … [Read more...] about Theresa May accuses Tony Blair of sabotaging Brexit with secret talks with EU
Tony blair
Theresa May launches attack on Tony Blair for ‘subverting Brexit process for his own political interests’
Theresa May has launched an astonishing attack on Tony Blair, accusing the former prime minister of seeking to “undermine” her during Brexit talks in order to pursue his own “political interests”. In highly unusual move, Ms May hit out at one of her predecessors, claiming the former Labour leader’s support for a second Brexit referendum was “an insult to the office he once held and the people he once served”. The criticism comes after Mr Blair told Europe to prepare for the “near probability” of Britain extending Article 50 to allow more time for negotiations or a fresh referendum. Join Indpendent Minds For exclusive articles, events and an advertising-free read for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Start your free trial Get the best of The Independent With an Independent Minds subscription for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Start your free trial Get the best of The Independent Without the ads – … [Read more...] about Theresa May launches attack on Tony Blair for ‘subverting Brexit process for his own political interests’
Theresa May condemns Tony Blair’s call for second referendum
Theresa May has angrily condemned calls for a second Brexit referendum, despite her closest allies secretly preparing for a new poll. The prime minister hit out at predecessor Tony Blair, who on Friday told Sky News she should "switch course" and back a second referendum because of deadlock in parliament.Yet behind the scenes, her de-facto deputy David Lidington has discussed a new poll with Labour MPs and her chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, is also said to be backing another referendum.Over the past fortnight, Mr Lidington has held a series of meetings with Labour MPs, including one on Thursday with leading campaigners for a so-called "people's vote".This week Mrs May will attempt to salvage her Brexit deal by calling in EU ambassadors to Number 10 and sending a top government lawyer to Brussels for talks on the Irish backstop.The government's most senior legal officer, Jonathan Jones, aims to secure a legally binding commitment that the backstop can be time-limited, which the PM … [Read more...] about Theresa May condemns Tony Blair’s call for second referendum
Two wasted years of Brexit and now Theresa May says it’s Tony Blair’s fault
It is hard to find a word for the current state of Brexit. Omnishambles is already taken. How do you sum up two years of wasted effort culminating in the humiliating week we’ve just seen? Theresa May insisted she had a deal. The only deal on the table. The only deal she would consider putting before Parliament. Then, when the time came, she didn’t. She decided to go back to Brussles and renegotiate confident of success. But the EU said she’d already had their best offer. So she came back empty-handed. The whole process has been a disaster. And now Mrs May blames, erm, Tony Blair for it. That’s right. Tony Blair. There are many things Mr Blair is responsible for. But the Brexit mess is not his fault. The one bright spot in Mrs May’s week was that she won a vote of confidence. Only a third of her party doesn’t like her. What that means for us is – like the rest of the process – unclear. Read More Brexit impact so far … [Read more...] about Two wasted years of Brexit and now Theresa May says it’s Tony Blair’s fault
Tony Blair: Nobody wants Theresa May’s Brexit deal
Theresa May must go over the heads of the "very unreasonable people in her party and coalition" and allow MPs to help direct the course of Brexit, according to former prime minister Tony Blair. In an interview with Sky News, the former Labour leader said the prime minister needed to recognise that hers was a deal "that no-one wants" and is not going to get through parliament.He said she would do better to "construct a process" in which parliament works through various Brexit options to see if MPs could agree one option."I feel very sympathetic to the stress and strain of the job, to the difficulty she's found herself in," Mr Blair said."Frankly, she does have some very unreasonable people in her party and her coalition."But in the end, while I am sympathetic to her, she has got to realise now that she has to switch course.""The deal that the prime minister has concluded is a deal that no-one wants."Mrs May was forced to pull a Meaningful Vote on her Brexit plan earlier this week as it … [Read more...] about Tony Blair: Nobody wants Theresa May’s Brexit deal