Tony Blair announces his return to politics - and hints at starting a new anti-Brexit movement

The Brexit vote has brought many unintended side effects - one of which is Tony Blair's return to politics, 20 years after he won a landslide general election.

کد خبر: ۶۸۹۹۱۰

تاریخ: ۱۱ ارديبهشت ۱۳۹۶ - ۱۲:۰۲

Telegraph - The Brexit vote has brought many unintended side effects - one of which is Tony Blair's return to politics, 20 years after he won a landslide general election.

As we head towards another of those - but this time with a Conservative government poised to take the victory - the former Prime Minister spoke of his ambitions to soften Brexit and "shape policy debate".

He told The Mirror: "This Brexit thing has given me a direct motivation to get more involved in the politics.

You need to get your hands dirty and I will."

Mr Blair is not as wildly popular as he was 20 years ago - especially not in the ranks of his own party.

He acknowledged that he will get a "bucket of wotsit" poured on his head when he makes his grand return.

However, those worried the original Blairite will grab control of the Labour party need not worry - for now.

He told the tabloid that he has no current plans to return to frontline politics or become an MP.

"It is not frontline politics in the sense I am not standing for parliament,” he explained.

"I am not sure I can turn something into a political movement but I think there is a body of ideas out there people would support.”

Despite his hopes of starting an anti-Brexit movement, the former Prime Minister is adamant he is not defying the will of the people.

"This is not about defying the will of the people,” he told the tabloid.

"It is saying the will of the people may change when they see the final deal."

He also defended his record as Prime Minister and the centrists in the Labour Party, saying: "Okay, at the end of 10 years of my time as PM there were things people really objected to; Iraq obviously, and post-9/11 foreign policy.

"But don’t take that away from the achievements of that government – huge investment in the health service and schools, we reduced pensioner poverty and child poverty, we introduced the minimum wage. We did a lot.”

Mr Blair continued: "A lot of the attacks on me are because I am the representative of that type of centre left politics.

"People on the right are desperate never to have my politics come back to the Labour Party because they know it can end in a Tory defeat.

"And then unfortunately it has always been the way of the left that it tends to attack its own.”