Blair and Major to warn Brexit threatens unity of United Kingdom

Reuters: Tony Blair and John Major will say on Thursday that a vote to leave the European Union on 23 June would jeopardise the unity of the United Kingdom by undermining the peace in Northern Ireland and stoking calls for Scottish independence.

Speaking together in Northern Ireland, the two former British prime ministers will warn that the ‘unity of the UK itself is on the ballot paper’, the BBC reported.

Major and Blair, who both played important roles in the Northern Ireland peace process in the 1990s, will say there is a serious risk of a second independence referendum in Scotland and that an out vote could undermine stability in Northern Ireland.

“We understand that, although today Northern Ireland is more stable and more prosperous than ever, that stability is poised on carefully constructed foundations,” Blair will say, according to the BBC.

“And so we are naturally concerned at the prospect of anything that could put those foundations at risk,” Blair will say.

The 1998 Northern Ireland peace deal ended three decades of tit-for-tat killings between Catholic Irish nationalists who want the province to unite with Ireland and their Protestant rivals who want to keep Northern Ireland British. Over 3,600 died in the conflict.

Scots rejected independence by 55-45% in a vote in 2014 but since then the Scottish National Party has gained further strength, taking 56 of the 59 seats representing Scotland in the national parliament in London in last May’s national election.

Theresa Villiers, an opponent of EU membership who serves as Britain’s minister for Northern Ireland, said the comments by Blair and Major were irresponsible.

“Whatever the result of the referendum, Northern Ireland is not going back to the troubles of its past and to suggest otherwise would be highly irresponsible,” Villiers said.

Singapore trade minister says Brexit not good for global recovery

Reuters: Singapore’s trade minister said on Thursday a British vote to leave the European Union would have a significant impact on the United Kingdom and do nothing positive for the global economy.

Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang said in an interview in Mexico City that he and fellow officials had been closely following developments ahead of the June 23 referendum. “If the British were to vote for Brexit, then I think the long term consequences would be very significant for Britain specifically,” Lim said. “Definitely not a positive development when you talk about global economic recovery.”

Some Brexit proponents have argued that Singapore, a tiny port-based nation that depends heavily on free trade, is one of the countries that could be a successful model for Britain to follow if it ends up leaving the EU.

However, Lim’s comments add to the list of such nations that have questioned the merits of Britain going it alone.

The minister added that the Asian country would meet its gross domestic product growth target of between 1% and 3% for this year, but he said there were some risks.

“On balance, the risk is more to the downside, because when you look at the global growth situation in the first quarter, the global recovery has not gained as much traction as all of us had hoped,” he said.