In 1986, Mr Blair, who was a Labour backbencher at the time, spoke out against calls for the UK to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). The ERM was a precursor to the single currency, which the UK eventually joined in 1990, only to crash out spectacularly two year later on Black Wednesday. The future Prime Minister laid into Roy Jenkins, then-leader of the Social Democratic Party, as the SDP-Liberal Alliance were pushing for the UK to enter the ERM.

Mr Blair argued that, because entering the ERM essentially tethered the pound to the Deutschmark, this could mess up the British economy. 

For example, if the UK had joined just two or three months earlier when the pound was strong, it would have entered at a rate of 3.6DM or 3.5DM to the pound, but over the Christmas period a fall in world oil prices weakened the pound and strengthened the Deutschmark.

Now, the parity was down to around 3.33DM to the pound.

Had this happened with the UK already inside the ERM, the Chancellor would have been compelled to hike up interest rates – just as Norman Lamont did in September 1992 in a last-ditch attempt to keep the sterling in the ERM.

Mr Blair warned it is “important that our choice is informed and not a careless embrace of anything with the world ‘European’ in it”. 

He added: “The only compelling argument in favour of the European Monetary System is that it provides a hedge or some certainty against short-term instability in the currency.” 

Mr Blair also asserted that German fiscal policy was “too tight”, implying that he himself would allow some inflation if it would help reduce unemployment. 

He rightly pointed out that the ERM is essentially a “Deutschmark bloc”, adding that “we would be putting Herr Pohl of the Bundesbank in 11 Downing Street”.

By 1989, however, Mr Blair – now the Shadow Energy Secretary – had done a fascinating U-turn on this opinion and completely supported the UK entering the ERM. 

By 1992, he was describing himself as “passionate European”.

Many believe that during his years as Prime Minister, Mr Blair would have liked to have taken the country into the Eurozone, but that Gordon Brown would not let him have a referendum on the subject. 

Mr Blair’s apparent change of heart is even more shocking when you consider that in the early Eighties he actually campaigned on a platform of leaving the EEC, a trading bloc that even many modern-day Eurosceptics are not opposed to.

Leaving the EEC was the official Labour Party line at the time so arguably he was just towing the party line, but many of Mr Blair’s Europhile colleagues simply stayed quiet on the matter – not he. 

In a local newspaper article during a 1982 by-election he eventually lost, he declared that he supported the leadership on important matters including “withdrawal from the EEC”.

In his election leaflet, Mr Blair asserted that the EEC “takes away Britain’s freedom to follow the economic policies we need” and blasted the “indefensible” farm policy. 

During the 1983 election, he fully supported Labour’s manifesto, famously dubbed the “longest suicide note in history”.

In his election address, he said: “We will negotiate withdrawal from the EEC which has drained our natural resources and destroyed out jobs”.

It was around this time that some Labour MPs and activists who opposed the anti-EU stance were breaking off from the party and joining the newly formed the Social Democratic Party (SDP), so Mr Blair would not have stood alone if he had dared to oppose the policy.

In this way, Mr Blair – now one of the most famous Europhiles, who attempted to ratify the EU constitution and paved the way for the Lisbon Treaty, and who spoke out strongly against Brexit – may not have always been so staunch in these views.

Political commentator Phillip Johnston labelled Mr Blair’s behaviour over the EU as “opportunistic”.

Indeed, he has condemned Brexiteers for holding the very same views he apparently used to have.

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