New Delhi , Jan 9: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday opined that the United Kingdom should hold a second Brexit referendum, contradicting incumbent Prime Minister Theresa May’s views on the issue.
Participating in a debate titled — ‘The Waning West: Can it Discover a New Direction?’, along with former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Blair said that the ultimate decision lies in the hands of the people of UK.
“We in the UK have got to make a choice as to whether we want the pointless or the painful Brexit, or if we want to go back to the people and ask them how they want to proceed. Britain decided to leave the European Union (EU) by referendum, so putting the final say on it back to the people is the only way to resolve the matter,” he said at the Raisina Dialogue here.
“The rise of China is the biggest geopolitical fact of my children’s lifetime. There will be a battle partly about interests, but it could also be about values, so countries who share the same values should stick together. For China to get to the next stage of economic development, there is a need to resolve several systemic issues, like the rule of law, before it can progress,” he said.
Blair further said that it is the responsibility of the people in a democracy to find solutions to challenges, adding that Europe will struggle until the issues of its citizens are heard.
“The crucial aspect that must survive through American presidencies is retaining strong global leaderships,” he said.
The fourth Raisina Dialogue is underway till January 10 and has around 600 delegates from 92 countries participating in around 50 hours worth of debates and discussions. The conference is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs.
