Tony Blair says Cameron made Brexit referendum decision in good faith, as he did with Iraq war

Former Prime Minister warns: 'Unless you restore sense that politics is a reasoned debate between people who can disagree but not hate each other, you have a real challenge for democracy'

Tony Blair: ‘This is why Labour must not agree to this election ploy until the situation is dealt with’ (PA)

Tony Blair has compared his decision to invade Iraq with David Cameron’s agreement to hold the Brexit referendum, saying said both were made in “good faith”.

The former Labour Prime Minister said he felt that, in each case, both he and Mr Cameron believed that they were acting out of necessity.

And he argued that the growing number of people refusing to accept that politicians they disagreed with could act with good intentions could lead to the erosion of democracy.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, he said: “I will explain the reasons for it [invading Iraq] and have done many, many times in countless interviews, but there’s only one thing I say to people that they should accept even if they disagree with it: that I took it in good faith…

“And I don’t doubt, actually, that in relation to the referendum decision, that David Cameron took it for the same reasons: he actually believed it was necessary to do it.”

The prominent Remainer added: “Now I might not agree with that but to conduct politics in the sense that a political leader is acting in bad faith when he takes a decision you disagree with, that’s part of the problem with politics [at the moment] because people can do things in good faith that you disagree with.”

He said: “Unless you can restore some sense that politics is a reasoned debate between people who can agree to disagree, vote a different way, but not hate each other, you have a real challenge for democracy.”

The comments came as the 66-year-old was interviewed by John Humphrys during the veteran broadcaster’s last morning on the Today show.

During the 10-minute conversation, Mr Blair also suggested a new political party would emerge if both Labour and the Tories continued to move away from the centre ground.

“If it becomes clear that the two main parties have moved so far away from the centre that the gap has to be filled in order to be representative of the state of opinion, you will get a new political grouping of force emerging that could challenge the two main parties," he said.

Asked if the country needed such a group, he replied: “I think if the two parties stick where they are, the country will need it, yes.

"One of the things that troubles me most about politics today is I can’t tell you the number of smart young people - it’s partly because my oldest kids are of this age – in their 20s and 30s, really intelligent young people, politically committed, they have got no [political] home and they look at the state of the two main parties and say I couldn’t join either of them.”