Last week Tony Blair brought to the Westminster election campaign something which has been profoundly lacking from the mainstream political parties: a positive message.

As leader of the Labour Party he was often accused of prioritising popularity ratings over ideology or policy in pursuit of power, but Blair has always been unshakeable in his support for an outward-looking Britain and strong European Union.

Neither has he shied away from speaking out against racism and hate crime, and from encouraging greater tolerance throughout society.

Despite Northern Ireland’s standing as a small region of the United Kingdom, the benefits of EU membership have been huge in terms of peace project funding, agricultural and other economic initiatives.

In spite of our position at the corner of the continent, never have the societal problems we face been so similar to those of our European neighbours, not least in terms of inequality, segregation and hate crime.

In an election which the UK’s membership of the EU has become such a prominent issue, who in Northern Ireland is willing to defend it as vehemently as Blair?

Following PSNI reports of a steep rise in hate crime – recorded incidents in Belfast have increased by 43% over the last eight months – who will lead our society against such intolerance?

Just like an in/out referendum on Europe threatens to distract Westminster policy-makers from the task of getting the economy back on track, local politicians preoccupied with past grievances, representing just one “community” and evading the ticking time-bomb of welfare reform do us no favours either.

All political parties tell us that May’s election presents an opportunity of a lifetime; this may be true for the Democratic Unionist Party, given their hung parliament-ready wish list; oppositely, the Scottish Nationalist Party is eager to renegotiate Scotland’s partnership with the United Kingdom.

What every election does offer, as Blair stated, is a chance to decide our ambitions as a people, who we are and where we are going.

Northern Ireland still has much to learn and gain from the European project born out of conflict.

Should Britain cut itself adrift from Europe, should Northern Ireland’s standing and advantages of EU membership be diminished, and should we recognise segregation and hate crime as normal then plenty more questions will have to be asked come 2020’s election.