Knives out for ex-Tory PM John Major after he rips into Boris & fellow Brexiteers
Ex-Tory PM John Major has faced a backlash from key Conservatives, after he gave a scathing attack on Boris Johnson and other Brexiteers, telling them they had deceived the public which will ‘never be forgotten, nor forgiven.’
In a speech in Central London on Tuesday evening, Major said that the likes of Johnson, former Brexit secretary David Davis, and other Brexiteers vying to succeed Theresa May as PM, were “princelings” who are guilty of “deceiving” the British public about the consequences of Brexit.
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He told those assembled at the Michael Quinlan Lecture: “What government is not about is cheap grandstanding. It’s not about deceiving the electorate with slogans, or sound bites, or untruths or half-truths. It’s not about windy oratory that says nothing.
“And - most emphatically - it’s not about princelings fighting for the political crown of premiership. Coded messages that shriek ‘I’m the one’ are about as subtle as a punch on the nose.”
The former Conservative prime minister, who was ousted by Tony Blair and his New Labour party in 1997 after seven years in office, has come under severe criticism from prominent Tory Brexiteers for his attack.
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Hardline-line Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg took to social media to tweet his disapproval at Major’s harsh words, claiming he pities the former Tory leader, insisting he had never recovered from being roundly “rejected” by the British public in 1997.
Pity Sir John Major who was so heavily rejected by voters in 1997 and has never recovered. https://t.co/B9yLctKeaQ
— Jacob Rees-Mogg (@Jacob_Rees_Mogg) October 16, 2018
Too right. That Major still has the gall to lecture others after his disastrous legacy is not a sign of good judgement. https://t.co/K1HphvlaNS
— Mark Wallace (@wallaceme) October 16, 2018
John Major claims he has made no false promises on Brexit. That’s wrong though isn’t it? Didn’t he promise to respect the referendum result?
— Patrick O'Flynn (@oflynnmep) October 16, 2018
Former Brexit minister Steve Baker, who quit the frontbench earlier this year in protest at May’s Chequers proposal, appeared to blame Major for the current “predicament” the country faces - adding: “God bless him but he has done too much harm already.”
Mark Wallace, executive editor of ConservativeHome, the Tory grassroots website, claimed that the Conservative grandee’s lecturing of Brexiteers after the “disastrous legacy” he left, was not a sign of good judgement.
Major had insisted Tory Brexiteers would “never be forgotten, nor forgiven" for helping to consign Britain to becoming a much weaker and poorer nation. His intervention got backing from others on social media, such as Tory Remainer, Sarah Wollaston MP, who welcomed his “telling it as it is” approach.
Former PM John Major telling it as It is on #Brexit “a colossal misjudgment that will diminish both the UK and the EU. It will damage our national and personal wealth” https://t.co/MllOQP0KyO
— Sarah Wollaston MP (@sarahwollaston) October 16, 2018
Jacob, you haven’t even made Minister. Sit down.
— Emma Kennedy (@EmmaKennedy) October 16, 2018
Show some respect, he’s achieved more in his career than you ever will.
— Political Rich (@RichPolitical) October 16, 2018
It comes as crunch time fast approaches for Theresa May, with the Irish border and the ‘backstop’ deal proving to be a sticking point for negotiations. May will attend a critical EU summit of leaders on Wednesday night which is being billed as ‘make or break’ time, not only in relation to striking a deal, but also concerning her leadership as PM.
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