Tony Blair has suggested a second referendum could be held on the same day as a general election to break the Brexit impasse.
The former Prime Minister has warned Jeremy Corbyn not to agree to a general election until no deal is no longer an option.
Mr Blair said he believes the most likely outcome of negotiations over the UK’s future relationship with the EU were likely to end in no deal.
“The sensible thing for him [ Jeremy Corbyn ] to say to Boris Johnson is, ‘Yes, I’ll agree to your general election, but you’ve got to agree to timetable proper scrutiny of your Bill and allow us to amend that so that we rule out no deal as the outcome of the future negotiation’. Because otherwise Jeremy Corbyn hasn’t prevented no deal.”
Speaking to the BBC’s The Westminster Hour, Mr Blair said: “He [Jeremy Corbyn] can make that happen. He can say the moment that’s done properly, he’s up for a general election. But it’s got to encompass the future negotiations and not simply the exit deal.”
Mr Blair added: “Why don’t we just be honest about this? The reason why Boris Johnson wants an election is because he thinks he gets into an election and says to the country, ‘look, you might not like what I’m doing on Brexit but if you don’t vote for me you’re going to get Jeremy Corbyn’. That’s what he thinks.”
Boris Johnson has offered MPs more time to scrutinise and amend his deal – but only if they back a December 12 poll.
Under the Fixed Term Parliament Act the Prime Minister needs two-thirds of MPs to back it.
Labour have not yet decided whether to back Boris Johnson’s December 12 election when it comes to a vote on Monday.
Although the party whips told MPs on Friday to abstain, Jeremy Corbyn had wanted to wait to see the length of the extension offered by the EU.
The Liberal Democrats and SNP have ruled out voting for it but instead want to bring their own bill which they say rules out no deal in exhange for a December 8 election.
After a meeting of EU27 ambassadors broke up last week without agreement, the UK may be forced to wait until Tuesday before Brussels makes a decision.
Asked if Mr Corbyn could win an election for Labour , Mr Blair replied: “Well it’s possible isn’t it? In today’s world anything is possible.
“Who can predict anything about British politics?”
Mr Blair said he would prefer the question of Brexit to be settled in a referendum, although he suggested this could happen on the same day as a general election: “You can deal with them both on the same day if you want. But you should deal with them separately.”
He also said Remain supporters had to accept that no deal must be on the ballot paper in any referendum. He said a three-question referendum was therefore “the sensible thing to do”.
Mr Blair said there were “a vast number of problems” with Boris Johnson’s deal and praised MPs for wanting more time to scrutinise it:
“They’re studying the detail and saying, ‘the damn thing doesn’t work’.”
However he said he believes there is a majority in Parliament in favour of leaving the EU, with a deal.
(Image: Getty Images)
Mr Blair referred to Mr Johnson’s deal as “selling out” the DUP: “His deal separates Britain and Northern Ireland. His deal locks Northern Ireland into the trading system of the European Union and the same trading system as the Republic of Ireland and it separates Britain. So 98% of the population are left with a hard Brexit while 2% get a soft Brexit.”
Explaining why he believed the negotiations over the UK’s future relationship with the EU were likely to end in no deal, Mr Blair said: “Europe is now on notice from Britain and its ministers that Britain wants Brexit to compete around tax and regulation, to become an off-shore competitor with the European Union.
“What is absolutely clear is that Europe is not going to have that. And they’re going to say to the UK side – this is why this negotiation is going to be very ugly and very difficult – they’re going to say, ‘No we’re not giving you tariff-free access to our markets if you’re going to start using a whole lot of competitive tax and regulatory measures in order to undercut us’.”
Mr Blair said his own opposition to Brexit had grown stronger in the years since the 2016 referendum: “This is a terrible mistake and it’s not undemocratic before we do it and we take this irrevocable step of destiny that we think again about it.”
Full interview to be broadcast in The Westminster Hour, BBC Radio on tonight at 10pm
