Tony Blair doesn’t rule out second referendum after Brexit “catastrophe”
Tony Blair thinks the UK needs to keep its "options open" over Brexit and said he didn't rule out a parliamentary vote, a general election or another referendum on the subject.
The former Prime Minister said that while he respected the June vote, Britain needed to look again at Brexit once "we have a clear sense of where we're going".
"There's no reason why we should close off any options," he said on BBC Radio 4.
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Blair said it was important the government studied the "real-life implications" of what leaving the EU would involve. Calling the referendum vote a "catastrophe", Blair also stressed that the "16 million" people who had backed staying in the EU should also have their voices heard.
The result saw 51.9 per cent of voters opt for leaving the EU in June.
Blair wrote a piece in The New European today, calling on the 48 per cent who voted to remain in the EU to take action. "We're the insurgents now. We have to build the capacity to mobilise and to organise. We have to prise apart the alliance which gave us Brexit."
Blair's views on the subject come after the head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said the UK's transition out of the EU will be fast and smooth, with no disruption to trade.
Roberto Azevedo said the UK would not face a vacuum when it leaves and would continue to be a member of the WTO.
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Theresa May has said she will trigger Article 50 in March 2017, meaning Britain would leave the EU officially in early 2019. Earlier this week, audio leaked from a speech she gave to Goldman Sachs last May during her tenure as home secretary. May warned bankers she feared businesses would leave the UK if it voted to ditch the EU.
Two Labour MPs have secured time for a House of Commons debate next week on the impact of Brexit on financial and professional services companies. Liz Kendall and Chris Leslie have been granted three hours to discuss the future of the City after quitting the EU. The discussion will happen on Thursday.