Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, is calling for a second vote on Brexit. He writes that this can be done by a second vote, a new election or a vote in Parliament. The former Prime Minister is calling upon all remain voters to mobilize in order to disband the organization of the leave voters.
Tony Blair argues that most voters did not understand the path they were going to take. Now that voters are well informed about the mess that they have made, he believes that Brexit would lose overwhelmingly on a second vote.
The former leader of the UK says that Brexit seems to be a deal that is not worth the while for Britain. And when people see the complications of leaving the EU, such as what happens to the single market, free flow of goods and people, and the economic and social restructuring, they may think twice about their decision to leave.
And this all comes at a time when Brexit seems incredibly messy for global financial markets. Since Great Britain is now untangling itself from the single market of the EU, financial experts warn that it is time to manage debt, both personally for any citizen with money tied up in a European market and publicly for all governments involved.
Tony Blair points at the precipitous fall of the British pound as a future indicator of Britain’s economic might. He also sees the collapse of a Canadian free trade deal as fallout of the leave vote. The former Prime Minister argues that not many people were willing to forecast such a dire future.
Brexit seems to be having the effect of a free market with unfettered trade, low regulation, low tax and very low social protections. This type of economic environment can be found in city states like Hong Kong and Singapore. But it is not something that he believes the average leave voter would endorse.
The break from the EU seems to be caused by an anger among the people. The average British citizen feels as if they have lost footing in society; that corrupt politicians harp on austerity measures while they enrich themselves at the expense of the common man.
But fear has also played a role. Terrorism is very visible on the European continent and the average Briton wanted to remove themselves from harm’s way. Leaving the EU was a figurative way to distance themselves from the terror.
Remain voters, led by Blair, are fighting to keep remaining in the EU on the table. They are doing so by educating leave voters on the deleterious effects of exiting the EU. They argue that fears and anxiety over immigration will only increase as a totally independent island nation.
Remain voters are also steadfast in their belief that globalization will cause stagnant incomes for Britain while housing and public services will decline. In the end, they argue that the average Briton’s life will suffer as a consequence.
Brexit shifted the social paradigm in Britain. The remain voters are now socially stigmatized and are put on the defensive. Tony Blair is calling for a political movement to not only change public perception, but to enact political change in order to keep all options open moving forward. If the option to remain is shut out, there will be no turning back even when the future looks dark.
