Tony Blair, who earlier this year announced his intent to oppose the rise of populism in British politics with his new NGO called Institute for Global Change, now seeks to stop Britain from leaving the European Union.
"And if you think it’s the most important decision this country has taken in living memory, then even if you think there’s only a small chance of it being changed, if you think that’s the right thing to do, you should be up arguing for it," he said.
The former prime minister insisted that it is still possible to avert Britain’s impending secession from EU via "a combination of grassroots pressure and parliamentary opposition," although the fact that the Labor party apparently isn’t keen on opposing Brexit poses a problem to his plans.
He claimed that while some members of the Labor leadership may regard Brexit as an opportunity to gain power, this is a "miscalculation."
"I’d like to see a Labour government in power. But I think the key national priority right now is stopping Brexit. I would put it above everything else right now for the country," he stated.
Blair also admitted that many people may be initially reluctant to listen to him due to his reputation, but insisted that "this is such a serious moment for the country that it’s your obligation to go out and state the argument."
"Of course, there will be some people who refuse, literally refuse, to listen to you because it’s you. But my experience with people most of the time is that, if you’re making a reasonable argument, they’ll listen to you on that argument, even if they disagree on other things," the politician said.
During a referendum that was held on June 23, 2016, about 51.9 percent of British voters said "yes" to their country leaving the EU.
