Tory’s ad for debate on Mayor slams Brexiteer second EU vote ‘banned’ colleagues
THE Conservative Party has banned one of its own MPs from advertising events at the party’s annual conference in Birmingham which support a second EU referendum.
Tory MP Phillip Lee is to speak at two events debating calls for a ‘People’s Vote’ on the final EU deal.
One is to be held at the Hilton Garden Inn, in Brindleyplace, and the other is at the Novotel Hotel, in Broad Street.
The October conference will include hundreds of similar fringe events, and they will be advertised in a directory distributed to everyone attending the conference, including party activists and journalists.
But the party has said it is refusing to include a listing for these two events. No explanation has been given.
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Dr Lee, who represents Bracknell in Berkshire, said he had written to Conservative Party Chairman Brandon Lewis demanding answers.
He said: “I am astonished at this foolish effort to stifle debate about the most important issue to affect our country in my lifetime.
“But, rather than anger, it is sadness that I feel. Sadness that my Party has become so weak that it cannot support free speech.
“And sadness that it is not even prepared to consider a way forward that over the half our population now wants.
“The Conservatism that I cherish is always open to debate about the future of our great country.”
One of the events, due to take place on October 1, has been organised by pressure group Best for Britain.
In an email to Best for Britain the Conservative party said: “We reserve the right to decline to publicise a Fringe event without giving any reason.”
Best for Britain chief Eloise Todd said: “The Conservative party are trying to stifle debate on Brexit and it has backfired spectacularly.
“As the party of government they should be doing the exact opposite and listening to people around the country, most of whom now want to stay in the our current deal with the EU.”
The Conservative Government has ruled out holding a second referendum.
However, fringe events at party conferences are not expected to reflect party policy, and it is common for them to provide a platform for people seeking to influence or change existing policies.
The conference is being held in Birmingham’s International Conference Centre (ICC) which opened in 1991, thanks partly to a £50 million donation from the European Union. ANDY Street, the Conservative Mayor of the West Midlands, has said he is “frustrated” and “amazed” at the attitude of hardline Brexiteers in his own party.
He said opponents of Theresa May’s plan for Brexit – which includes a free trade area for goods – were not basing their arguments on “economic reality”.
But the mayor backed the Prime Minister’s proposals, saying she had listened to the needs of manufacturers in the West Midlands.
Many employers, including car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover, have warned that the UK must retain access to the EU single market and customs union after Brexit.
Speaking to website Politico, Mr Street said he’d found it “difficult” to watch some elements within the Conservative Party dismiss their concerns. He said: “Some members of my party have said things that I am pretty amazed at. And they’re wrong.
“The Conservative Party has always been understanding and supportive of business. So I do find that difficult to understand.”
He said he backed Mrs May’s proposals for Brexit, known as the Chequers plan, largely because it promises single market membership for goods.