Tony Blair has told Labour supporters put off by Jeremy Corbyn’s “destructive indecision” over Brexit to vote for an “unequivocal” Remain party at the European elections.
The former prime minister wrote a scathing column in this week’s Observer, saying local elections were “devastating for Labour” and that Brexit should be the deciding factor when the country goes to the polls on 23 May.
Delays to the Withdrawal Agreement mean the UK will elect 73 MEPs for the United Kingdom to sit in Brussels.
And while Blair said he would be voting Labour “despite everything”, he suggested supporters put off by the “equivocation” of Labour to vote for other parties, the Press Association reports.
He wrote in the Observer: “There are unequivocal remain parties – Liberal Democrats, Change UK, Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru.
“If, because of Labour’s equivocation, you simply won’t vote Labour, then vote for them. If, like me, despite everything, you can vote Labour, then vote Labour.”
The former Labour leader also said the result of the poll will be seen through the prism of Britain’s departure from the European Union.
“This is not a vote to choose a prime minister or a government. It is a vote for the Farage Brexit – or against it,” he wrote.
Elsewhere in his column, Blair speaks of “destructive indecision” in the party.
He wrote: “The local elections were terrible for the Conservatives but, on any rational analysis, devastating for Labour.
“We are almost 10 years into austerity, with the public realm – Labour’s political sweet spot – in disrepair. Yet Labour could not even win the local elections.
“Despite Keir Starmer’s best efforts, the leadership’s ambiguity on Brexit has brought it confusion, not shelter from principled decision on the most vital question of national interest.”