Sir Tony Blair has delivered the most devastating critique of the failure of Brexit and how consequently Britain has ended up with mass immigration instead of the promise to “take back control”.
“We’ve swapped out younger, usually single people coming in from Europe to work in hospitality, technology and other sectors for much increased immigration from Asia and Africa,” he said.
In an exclusive interview with Geordie Greig, editor-in-chief of The Independent, Sir Tony highlighted the way “we have weakened ourselves” in the UK as a result of Brexit.
Watch the Blair interview in full on Independent TV
Britain’s most successful prime minister of the 21st century lambasted the Tories for “putting politics before policy” over 14 years, which led to a period of instability not seen since Margaret Thatcher won power in 1979. He said the Tories had perverted Thatcherism into a kind of nationalism through extreme Euroscepticism.
In a wide-ranging interview, following the publication of his book On Leadership, he highlighted:
Sir Tony urged Sir Keir Starmer to “repair the relationship” with the EU as he warned that Western leaders must prepare for a potential global war in a world destabilised by the tension between America and China, and a “delusional” Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sir Tony’s priority has always been to underpin UK influence by being “America’s closest ally”, with a strong role in the European Union and peddling soft power through international aid. He sees an urgent need to repair the relationship with the EU in a world that some close to him believe is now in a potential pre-war scenario.
“We need to think how we repair the relationship with the EU, and then in time, we’ve got to think as a country of where we fit in the world. One of the things that gives a country energy, and appetite for facing all the challenges is they know where they fit. There’s no doubt we’ve weakened ourselves,” he said.
“By the middle of this century, you’re going to have three superpowers – America, China, and … India. All other countries are going to be small in comparison,” he added.
While not wanting to give a running commentary on the Starmer government, Sir Tony differs with the current prime minister over negotiations with the EU – with Sir Keir rejecting the youth mobility scheme that would allow easier travel for those under 30.
“Personally, I think youth mobility within Europe would be a good thing for us, but, you know, the government’s got to take a view on that,” he said.
Sir Tony eviscerated Brexit for failing to deliver on its one big promise of reducing immigration, calling it “absolutely extraordinary” that Brexit had “increased immigration” as the most recent figures showed net migration hitting 764,000 in 2022.
“I understand it wasn’t the intention, but the result is we have higher levels of immigration and high levels of people bringing dependents into the country,” he said.
But Sir Tony’s priority is the potential global crisis caused by “a delusional” Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, warning that the West must stand up to the Kremlin and be resolute in its support for Kyiv.
“The one thing that Putin thinks is that he can always outlast the West, that the West lacks staying power. We must provide evidence – and Ukraine is the test – that it’s got staying power.”
Such tensions, with potential for terrible consequences, make him ”anxious”.
“People whose views I respect say we are almost in a pre-war period,” Sir Tony said. “If we ever end up with a major global conflict, it will almost certainly be as a result of the American-Chinese relationship deteriorating.”
But he remains an optimist. “I find it hard to believe that either America or China wants such a conflict. China’s got such a massive interest in stability,” the former prime minister said. “Yet what Russia did in Ukraine changed the conventional wisdom. I think you’ve got to be anxious, because you’ve also got flash points like Taiwan, and obviously what Putin’s doing in Europe that could potentially lead to this.”
