Umunna: Britain is not a “dictatorship” – everyone has a right to speak out over Brexit

Tony Blair should be allowed to speak up over Brexit without being shouted down, Chuka Umunna said today.

The former shadow cabinet minister warned that any disagreement in the post-Brexit political era is being shut down “as if we live in a dictatorship”.

Speaking at the Open Britain campaign event alongside Conservative MP Anna Soubry and former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, Umunna said: “There are those who want to muzzle any debate; they don’t want to see a debate on the terms of our leaving”, adding that “most of the public” want to hear the point of view of Blair and another former prime minister John Major. Both former prime ministers have expressed concerns over a hard Brexit.

“If we allow this to go unchallenged we will be going down a very dangerous path indeed as a country, betraying our history and our tradition of promoting lively discussion and free speech” Umunna warned in reference to recent attacks on Mark Carney, governor of the bank of England and the judiciary, adding “those under attack are public servants”.

Umunna, former shadow business secretary, made clear the risks of a move to leave the single market, saying it would hit “every major sector” of the economy.

Clegg, former deputy prime minister, confirmed he had met with Blair since the referendum result, adding: “You can disagree what someone did in the past but if their actions are saying something that is valuable and insightful now, why do you seek to silence them? It’s a free country, for heaven’s sake. I disagreed with what Blair did on Iraq but the guy is a formidable politician. What country do we live in when we say he’s not entitled to speak up?”

Last week Blair said that Brexit could be “stopped” if voters wanted it to be. Earlier this month it was reported that Blair is seeking to re-position himself in politics because of concerns over Brexit, meeting with various ministers and former ministers. He has however ruled out a return to frontline politics.

Umunna made clear that he “wouldn’t go near” a project supporting a second referendum.

The event was held to launch a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research about Britain’s links to the single market, with the report showing how important the trading pool is for the country’s economy.

You can read the full report here.