Theresa May and Tony Blair are in disagreement over her Brexit deal
Tony Blair has described Theresa May as “irresponsible” for attempting to “steamroller MPs” into accepting her Brexit deal, continuing a rare war of words between a sitting prime minister and one of her predecessors.
The former Labour prime minister’s comments come after Theresa May accused him of “undermining” her Brexit negotiations by calling for a second referendum, adding that his remarks were an “insult to the office he once held”.
However, Blair hit back at May’s comments in a statement on Sunday, saying that it was in the national interest for him to publicly attack the prime minister’s Brexit deal.
He added: “Far from being anti-democratic it would be the opposite, as indeed many senior figures in her party from past and present have been saying.
“What is irresponsible, however, is to try to steamroller MPs into accepting a deal they genuinely think is a bad one with the threat that if they do not fall into line, the Government will have the country crash out without a deal.”
His comments come after May claimed in a statement there were too many people who wanted to “subvert the process for their own political interests rather than acting in the national interest”.
“For Tony Blair to go to Brussels and seek to undermine our negotiations by advocating for a second referendum is an insult to the office he once held and the people he once served,” she said.
She added: “We cannot, as he would, abdicate responsibility for this decision.
“Parliament has a democratic duty to deliver what the British people voted for.”
