Brexit: Tony Blair says he believes Jeremy Corbyn is pro-EU

'He certainly says he is and I take him at his face value on that,' former PM says

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair (PA)

Tony Blair has said he believes Jeremy Corbyn is a “pro-European” politician and that he expects Labour to eventually shift its policy to staying in the EU’s single market.

Speaking from the Davos summit in Switzerland, the former Labour prime minister said he understood that there were political reasons why Labour was not currently trying to stop Brexit and that the party’s policy had “nuance”.

Asked in an interview with Bloomberg News whether Mr Corbyn was a “pro-European” politician, the former prime minister replied:

“He certainly says he is and I take him at his face value on that. The Labour party, for reasons I understand, by the way, it’s got to say ‘well, we’re still in favour of Brexit’ – but if you see how the Labour party is moving it’s moving it’s very much towards a ‘let’s keep the single market’ position.

“There’s nuance in what it says but I think at the end there is a majority in the Labour party for keeping a close relationship with Europe.”

He argued that such a policy of staying in the single market, without having a seat in shaping EU rules, sometimes called the “Norway option”, could actually lead to the UK staying in the bloc.

“I think the moment you get to that position, there’s a very short leap to that position, which is to say let’s not give up our seat at the decision table and be the passive recipient of European rules. Because then you’ve neither got your freedom nor have you got your voice.”

Mr Blair also said Britain would “only ever get to a second referendum if it's clear public opinion is shifting” and that he believed this might occur were Theresa May to return from Brussels with a sub-standard deal.

But he added: “Frankly, there’s nothing that will make me change my mind thinking that this is a regressive move for the country.”

The former Labour leader said Brexit could be overturned by either general election or a second referendum, but added: “The first order question is will the public really shift in its opinion once it sees the deal the government brings forward.”

Speaking earlier this month Mr Corbyn said there would “have to be a customs union” with the EU. He however reportedly told Labour MPs at a meeting in Parliament that “single market membership requires us to be members of the EU”.

Labour’s manifesto position on Brexit was that it would try and get a deal that would retain the benefits of the EU single market and customs union, but it has yet to lay our precise details about how it would achieve this.

Theresa May has said she will take Britain out of the single market and customs union, a position she first stated in her Lancaster House speech a year ago.