Blair: Future Generation Will Rejoin EU.

When the UK voted to leave the European Union, our history changed. Some saw it as a fresh start for Britain, others saw it as a disaster. 52% voted to leave in 2016 as opposed to 48% who wanted to stay. The Tory government pre-Boris Johnson seemed to procrastinate about leaving the EU. The public had spoken whether the government liked it or not. The general election of 2019 delivered a landslide for Boris Johnson. Johnson said he would honour the vote to leave referendum. And so he did, sort of. The UK left the European Union with a deal but not a perfect deal. It left Northern Ireland as part of the UK but still under the EU. Sunak put that right or did he?

Can Farage and Johnson be blamed for persuading many of us to vote to leave? Yes, undoubtedly, we paid billions and never got anything back according to them. Who can forget Boris' bus saying all the money we spent on the EU would be ploughed back into the NHS? Like all of Boris' statements, it was a downright lie. Farage said we would be back in control of our borders. Well, what a lie that also turned out to be. Look at the waves of migrants coming to our shores from France. So people naively voted to leave at the ballot box. With the voices of Messers Farage and Johnson playing over and over in their minds. No doubt, many voted for genuine reasons to control immigration, to make our own rules again, and so forth. So we could make our trade deals with whoever we wanted and not be limited to just the European Union. Yes, we have made trade deals with India, Australia, Japan, etc. No doubt, there are dividends, from such deals. However, the European Union was our biggest trading partner. We still do trade with the EU. However, since leaving the EU businesses face more bureaucracy like paperwork. Same as trucks going over to the continent face checks and such. Same as travelling into the EU, because we are outside of it, armed with our blue passports instead of burgundy, we enter as foreigners (oh for the days we Brits were EU citizens when we could cross from one EU state to another with no probs because we were EU citizens just like our European cousins).

Freedom of movement ended. Suddenly all those businesses that were dependent on EU labour suffered because it dried up. Most Brits (as has always been the story) didn't want to do the jobs foreigners did. EU citizens wishing to work or start a new life in the UK now face the same immigration procedure as those from outside of the European Union. The thing is Farage et al used the spectre of immigration to brainwash many of us into voting to leave. The fact is more people were coming here from elsewhere notably the Commonwealth. So, yes, we may have stemmed immigration coming from the EU but we faced/face a deluge of non-Europeans. So in the end what did we achieve? Non-European, largely non-Christian people, come here with a different world view to the EU people. That's not to say non-Europeans cannot fit into our society, however, because of shared values a Pole 9 times out of 10 would fit in here better than a Pakistani. Many EU citizens particularly Poles returned home. Some, however, have clung on and become UK citizens. The Polish population declined in the UK. However, Polish still remains one of the most spoken tongues in Britain. Poles still make up a large proportion of the UK's population.

Tony Blair said leaving the EU is a constant source of regret for him. Mr. Blair feels the UK has suffered big time since leaving the trading bloc. The thing is many Brits now feel we should rejoin the European Union. Many according to a recent Delta poll 56% would vote to rejoin if there is a 2nd referendum. That shows how many people have changed their minds. Realizing they have been had by people like Farage. Also, seeing the dire state the nation is in. No doubt, the Urakine war, lockdown, and costs going up have not helped. But leaving the EU certainly has had a knock-on effect too.

In the meantime, Blair feels we should have a good working relationship with the European Union. Mr. Blair also believes that one day a 2nd referendum will be held and a future generation would vote to rejoin. Of course, Tory stalwart, Peter Bone did not agree with Mr. Blair. But that is to be expected from people like Peter Bone.