local elections: tony blair interview; part 1 of 4 england: buckinghamshire: int tony blair interview sot q: how much jeopardy is there in these... - war and conflict stock videos & royalty-free footage
{"Image ImageDescription": "2021 UK local elections: Tony Blair interview; Part 1 of 4\r\n\r\nENGLAND: Buckinghamshire:\r\nINT\r\nTony Blair (former Prime Minister) interview SOT\r\nQ: How much jeopardy is there in these elections in terms of future of union\r\n- There's definitely a real challenge for the union to show its relevance and its support today, and you've got a challenge for sure in Scotland, for sure in Northern Ireland, there's some rumblings in Wales / on the other hand the things that keep the union together, strong, economic and indeed cultural ties are still there and in my view ultimately will overwhelm the movements for independence, but I think in Northern Ireland particularly there is a real problem unless you can resolve this tension over the border, and although the focus is on Scotland I think the situation in Northern Ireland for the union is more perilous\r\n\r\nQ: Why do you think there's been an increase in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to some extent of anti-union sentiment\r\n- First and foremost and very obviously Brexit put independence back on the agenda in Scotland and it's been the principle cause of the border tensions in Northern Ireland / now I'm not saying you can't resolve all these things but you can't ignore the fact that on what was probably the most important decision the country has taken since the Second World War a significant majority both in Scotland and Northern Ireland wanted to stay within Europe so that's one reason / and then secondly I think in Scotland particularly the single biggest problem has been the absence of a really viable opposition in recent years / now I think today's Labour Party with the new leader in Scotland offers Labour the chance to rebuild and recover, it will take some time but I think the new leaderships actually exceptionally good, but that's been the problem in Scotland, the SNP have been able to maintain power in Scotland in government whilst essentially behaving like an opposition, so in other words blaming everything on...", "Image Copyright": "ITN (ITV News)"}