Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has called on the British people to "rise up" and fight against Brexit, arguing that it is not inevitable that the UK has to leave the European Union—despite the country voting to do just that in June last year.
In a controversial speech in London Friday, Blair criticized Prime Minister Theresa May and her government for its blinkered view on Brexit; slammed the current Labour leadership for its lack of opposition and said that the case for Scotland leaving the UK had been made "more credible."
Blair dismissed accusations that it was undemocratic to discuss Brexit over six months after the public voted to leave the EU and just weeks before Article 50 is set to be triggered, saying the public did not have all the information they needed.
"They will say the will of the people can't alter," Blair said. "It can. They will say leaving is inevitable. It isn't. They will say we don't represent the people. We do, many millions of them and with determination, many millions more."
Blair's call for the public to "rise up in defense of what we believe" has been criticized by some who point out that more than one million people protested his decision to go to war with Iraq over a decade ago.
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