EU chiefs should prepare for second Brexit referendum, ex-UK PM Tony Blair tells Euronews

EU chiefs should prepare for second Brexit referendum, ex-UK PM Tony Blair tells Euronews
By Euronews
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European leaders need to prepare for a second referendum on Brexit, Tony Blair has told Euronews.

Ex-UK prime minister Tony Blair has been lobbying European leaders to prepare for a second referendum on Brexit, it has emerged.

He told Euronews that a new vote on whether to stay in the European Union was now more likely than quitting the bloc without a deal.

Blair, a prominent figure among those in the UK who want to keep the country in the European Union, said the “biggest worry” was that Theresa May’s “botched” agreement would get approved by British MPs.

But, if that didn’t happen, a second referendum was likelier than quitting the EU without an agreement in place.

Blair told Euronews’ Darren McCaffrey there simply wasn’t a majority in the British parliament for no deal.

"What leaders were saying to me when I first started having this conversation a year ago was 'It's not going to happen, another referendum'," he said.

"I think the mood has changed in the last couple of months and now people are saying: 'Could it happen?

"I need to get the European leaders to the next stage, which is to realise the probability is it's going to happen and they have got to prepare for it.

"One important component of any such re-fought referendum will be whether Europe is prepared to meet what are not just British concerns around immigration but Europe-wide concerns.

"I think you could put together the right type of deal ... accepting freedom of movement of people in Europe has got to operate in a way that's fair and just."

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