Blair: EU exit is an extraordinary act of self-destruction @Yes__News: A British exit from the European Union would be viewed as an extraordinary act of self-destruction, former prime minister Tony Blair said as he warned Labour not to try to out-Ukip Nigel Farages party. The ex-premier said there was a high degree of alarm around the world about the possibility of the UK severing ties with Brussels and criticised David Camerons plan to renegotiate the terms of the UKs membership ahead of an in/out referendum by the end of 2017. But in comments seized on by the Tories as a veiled criticism of Ed Miliband, Mr Blair said the key to winning a majority in 2015 was having a strong political lead in the centre ground, combining the politics of aspiration with the politics of compassion. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Mr Blair set out how he would take on Ukip, and said Labour would not lose by standing up for membership of the EU. He said the way to deal with Ukip was to analyse their policies, show how destructive they would be and set out positive alternatives rather than joining in selling people a false and illusory elixir of hope, which is around if you stop more Polish people coming to Britain youre going to provide more jobs in the poorest communities in the UK. I always say to people that theres always a difference between the politics of anger and the politics of the answer, he said. And were best to be in the position of giving people the answer. You can understand the anger and you can sympathise with it even, but you will never out-Ukip Ukip. Now Im not saying the Labour Party is trying to do that by the way, its not. I think if the Labour Party kept on the analysis of Ukip policy then I think some of the attacks the Labour Party has made recently would be very effective. Ive always said the right way to deal with immigration is to have answers to it that meet the concerns people have, but also to point out the positive benefits of immigration and in any event to take on the notion that if you withdraw from the EU that you are going to solve all these problems, because youre not. Mr Blair said he had taken a self-denying ordinance on discussing the Labour Partys poll ratings, adding if I ever do an interview on it, it will have to be at length. But asked if he thought coalition governments would be more likely in future in the UK, Mr Blair said he still believed there was a majority available to a party fighting on the centre ground. I do think youre in a situation where theres a lot more fragmentation in the political vote, but I still believe personally there is still a majority for centre-ground politics in the UK and if you had a strong political lead that was combining the politics of aspiration with the politics of compassion, I still think thats where you could get a substantial majority, he said. Mr Blair was critical of the rise of Tory Euroscepticism, and the suggestion by former Cabinet minister Owen Paterson that Mr Cameron should immediately begin the process of applying to leave the EU if he won the next election. The former prime minister said the UK would have a better chance of building alliances and securing reform if the issue of its membership was not on the table. He said: To pull Britain out of the European Union altogether would be regarded around the world as an extraordinary act of self-destruction. That doesnt mean to say that you decide not to do it as a country but you should do it mindful of the fact that if you talk to people - never mind the rest of Europe, in the US, in Japan, China - and when they ask is Britain seriously contemplating leaving the European Union when the only honest answer to that is that its obviously a possibility, there is a high degree of alarm about the prospects for the country as a result of that. He added that British concerns about the EU were not totally out of line with the rest of Europe. So were in a situation where, ironically, if the issue of Britains membership wasnt on the table wed have a far better chance of getting far-reaching reforms in Europe because wed have many allies on that, he said. But when you make this simply about Britains own relationship with Europe, its a lot harder. Turning to international issues, Mr Blair said the West would have to co-operate with Russias Vladimir Putin where it was absolutely necessary, such as on Syria, despite his position on Ukraine. When I say we have to deal with Russia with care, its important we take a strong position on Ukraine but its important we also recognise Russia remains a powerful player, and in certain areas including the Middle East at the present time they are an important component of how we deal with these challenges. Middle East peace envoy Mr Blair also said he was more worried about the Israeli-Palestinian issue than Ive been since I started to do work in Jerusalem and the situation was highly unstable. He also defended his own work advising the government in Kazakhstan, which has been accused of human rights abuses, saying it was an important ally for the West. Mr Blair said: As I always say to people about Kazakhstan, I totally understand all the criticisms and the need for the country to evolve politically and in human rights terms. But the work we are doing there is to help the country make reforms around things like civil administration, public procurement and rule of law, these are important reforms and Kazakhstan is an important country. Conservative vice-chairman Bob Neill said: For all his many many faults Tony Blair was still Labours most electorally successful leader, but even he thinks Ed Milibands just not up to it. Across the country and inside the Labour party people realise that Ed Miliband is a weak leader whose policies of more wasteful spending and higher taxes dont add up to a credible economic plan.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 07:38:23 +0000
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