Tony Blair makes a compelling case over Britain’s relationship with the EU

Editorial: In an interview with The Independent, the former prime minister focuses on the arguments most likely to persuade those who are not already persuaded, namely disappointed Leave voters

The former prime minister says Brexit has failed, particularly when it comes to immigration (PA)

Tony Blair’s skill for communication meant that he was always one of the most persuasive makers of the case for Britain remaining in the European Union. Now, as the debate about the country’s place in Europe moves into a new phase, with Brexit being widely seen as having been handled badly and with a new Labour government, Sir Tony deserves to be heard again.

In an exclusive interview with Geordie Greig, editor-in-chief of The Independent, Britain’s most successful 21st-century prime minister avoids some of the predictable arguments deployed by many of the advocates of rejoining the EU. He leaves aside, for example, the economic costs of Brexit. In classic Blairite fashion, he focuses on the arguments most likely to persuade those who are not already persuaded, namely disappointed Leave voters.

Watch the Blair interview in full on Independent TV

In particular, he points out that, far from “taking back control” of immigration policy, the post-Brexit Conservative government ended up presiding over mass immigration on an unprecedented scale. And he draws attention to the change in the nature of that immigration: “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 does not need to spell it out, because Leave voters will get the message: this is not what most of them thought that they were voting for. “I understand it wasn’t the intention,” Sir Tony says, “but the result is we have higher levels of immigration and high levels of people bringing dependents into the country.”

He above all is entitled to fight back on this issue, as he was accused by Conservatives of opening the way to “uncontrolled” immigration when he was prime minister.

His other argument for what he describes as the need to “repair the relationship with the EU” is one of geopolitics. “There’s no doubt we’ve weakened ourselves” by leaving one of the world’s power blocs, he says. “By the middle of this century, you’re going to have three superpowers – America, China, and you’re going to have India. All other countries are going to be small in comparison.”

He argues that Britain should not abdicate its responsibility in a world destabilised by the tension between America and China and a “delusional” Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Again, this is an argument aimed as much at Leave voters as at most readers of The Independent; a patriotic argument about Britain’s power in the world. He even claims to be a disciple of Margaret Thatcher, in the sense that he argues that the Conservatives, through their extreme Euroscepticism, perverted Thatcherism into a narrow, isolationist form of nationalism.

The Independent has had its differences with Sir Tony, when his communication skills were his undoing, in that he persuaded too many people of the case for an unwinnable war in Iraq. But on the question of Europe his argument is built on much more secure foundations.

All those who want to see Britain as part of the common European project again should see merit in the case Sir Tony is making on how to repair our relationship with the EU.