British ex-PM Blair to return to politics

London, May 1

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has decided to again get involved in politics and take an active part in trying to shape the policy debate on Brexit.

On the 20th anniversary of his New Labour win on Monday, Blair told The Mirror that money was not the motivating factor behind his return to politics and predicted that Britons would eventually want to rejoin the European Union.

The former leader, who led Labour to a triumph in 1997, said, “This Brexit thing has given me a direct motivation to get more involved in politics. You need to get your hands dirty and I will... I am going to be taking an active part in trying to shape the policy debate.”

“We don’t know yet what the final deal on Brexit will be. We are advocating a very simple British common sense position, which is to say, let’s see what the Tories come up with first.

“This is not about defying the will of the people. It is saying the will of the people may change when they see the final deal. My prediction is it may take another generation but at some point we will want to be back in the EU — there is a direct link between the number of people and the size of an economy.”

However, things have moved on a lot in the 10 years since Blair has been absent, and he admitted: “I know the moment I stick my head out the door I’ll get a bucket of wotsit poured all over me, but I really do feel passionate about this.”

According to the tabloid, the 63-year-old has had talks with the Liberal Democrats about setting up a new force to fight for the centre ground and was coy when asked whether he would establish a new political party. — IANS