Blair calls for more passion in EU referendum debate

Tony Blair has called for more passion from pro-EU campaigners in the run up to June’s referendum.

The former Labour Prime Minister today weighed into the debate around EU membership, saying that the campaign to stay in must be based around “political idealism” as well as economic arguments.

Speaking on the Today programme, he said:

“I would like to see the pro-European side to get out there with a bit of passion and vigour and determination, and stand up for what we believe … not just as a matter of economic realism but as a matter of political idealism.”

He said that the important question should be: “What’s right for the people? And the point is, Britain has gained from Europe in these last decades.”

And he said he would like to see the political centre ground leading the debate. “At some point the political class as a whole has got to get up and stand up for itself, and the centre ground in particular has got to get some more muscularity in its position”, he said.

“There are plenty of elites on the anti-European side. The powerful people in the newspapers and major politicians who are fighting this are no less elitist than the politicians on the other side.

“Framing this argument in the way these guys do as ‘the elites are all for Europe and the people are all against it’? Come on. You guys are just as elitist as anyone else.”

However, it is unlikely that he will be seen on any Labour In platforms in the coming months, saying he appreciated that there were downsides to him being a prominent figure in the referendum. “I don’t know if it’s the right time for me on the campaign trail, since that carries negatives as well as positives,” he said, “but it’s certainly time to argue this case for Europe with some passion.”