Blair slams Corbyn over Brexit

Former prime minister Tony Blair has attacked Labour over its Brexit stance Photo: PA / Stefan Rousseau - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

Tony Blair has launched another Brexit broadside at Labour saying the party’s current position is pleasing no-one.

The former prime minister and ardent Remainer said the current Labour policy would not please either side of the argument.

Talking on the Today programme he said: ‘At the moment we’re in a halfway house. We are in favour, apparently, of staying in a customs union, which will disappoint the most ardent Leavers, but we’re not actually in favour of staying in Europe’s economic areas, which is necessary if you want frictionless trade.

‘And so many people who voted remain will then feel less than enthusiastic about Labour … My sense is that we are in the position now of neither pleasing the Remainers nor the Leavers.’

Blair argued Labour should propose remaining in the single market and the customs union but also push for a public vote on the final deal.

He also took a swipe at Jeremy Corbyn saying Labour should be performing better in the polls: ‘It’s a pretty extraordinary situation. You’ve got a government that’s in a state of considerable disarray, huge problems with the health service, problems on law and order, problems across the spectrum, and we’re not even ahead of the Conservatives in the opinion polls.’