Faced with Nigel Farage, what would Tony Blair do?

Admit it Labour's triple election winner would have known how to handle the threat from the Ukip leader

What would Tony Blair do about the threat posed by Nigel Farage, Ukip's pub quiz champion who always sticks to his special subject? "Who cares?" is the usual answer from some grander pundits on both left and right who share an interest in denigrating Labour's triple election winner. A pity they might learn something.

Actually, we know what Blair would do because he has already done it. He would largely ignore the European issue as presented by Ukip itself. All polls confirm that it is low on the list of most voter concerns compared with bread-and-butter problems such as rewarding jobs or the state of the NHS. Europe is shorthand for alienation from the political process and dismay at the pace of change in our globalised world including immigration, carelessly handled by Blair's complacent government.

Let me just tell you, sir, and your colleagues: you sit with our country's flag; you do not represent our country's interests. This is the year: 2005, not 1945. We're not fighting each other any more. These are our partners. They're our colleagues and our future lies in Europe. And when you and your colleagues say: 'What do we get in return for what we contribute to enlargement?', I'll tell you what we get. We get a Europe that is unified after years of dictatorship in the east. We get economic development in countries whom we have championed. We get a future reform that allows us once and for all to put an end to discussion about rebates, common agricultural policy, and get a proper budget for Europe. That's what we get if we have the vision to seize that opportunity.

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