May must take on staunch Remainer such as Blair in debate, say Tory MPS
Eurosceptics insist TV event must also include true Brexiteers such as Boris Johnson for balance
THERESA MAY has been told in Cabinet that she must face Tony Blair in a debate instead of Jeremy Corbyn if she is to convince Tory MPS to support her deal ahead of a crunch Commons vote, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
The Prime Minister was yesterday told by Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, that she must take on the arguments of committed Remainers such as Mr Blair and Lord Adonis, the Labour peer, if she is to win the support of her party.
Mr Hunt’s intervention came during a discussion in Cabinet about plans for a televised debate with Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, as part of a bid to win over 90 Tory MPS who are opposed to her plans. The Telegraph disclosed yesterday that Downing Street was in talks with broadcasters about a live televised debate between Mrs May and Mr Corbyn on her Brexit deal.
Eurosceptic Tory MPS yesterday said that a prominent Leave campaigner such as Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, should take part so it does not become a debate between a “Remain Labour Party and a Remain Prime Minister”.
During the Cabinet discussion, Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, said that the Prime Minister was the Government’s “biggest asset” in selling the deal and urged her to do more media appearances. He suggested there has been a “groundswell” of support for Mrs May following the revolt by Tory MPS and a bid to remove her as leader.
David Gauke, the Justice Secretary, and Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, argued that the Government needed to do more to highlight the risk of a nodeal Brexit. Mr Clark has previously warned that leaving without a deal Brexit would destroy the Conservative Party’s reputation of economic competence for a generation. However, Mr Hunt and other Cabinet ministers including Liz Truss, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, are understood to have warned against the risk of re-running “project fear” from the EU referendum.
He said that the Government’s best chance of winning the vote would be to frame it against Remain campaigners such as Mr Blair and Lord Adonis. A source said Mr Hunt was not proposing a direct debate with Mr Blair.
A Cabinet source told The Telegraph: “He [Mr Hunt] said we shouldn’t be debating Jeremy Corbyn, we should be debating Tony Blair. He is the person trying to stop Brexit.
“We need to put the case to Eurosceptic Tory MPS that there is a real threat it [Brexit] won’t happen and Remainers like Tony Blair will benefit from the chaos caused by losing the meaningful vote.”
Bernard Jenkin, a Eurosceptic Tory MP, said: “Corbyn was for Remain, Theresa May was for Remain. The 52 per cent who voted Leave have got to be represented in those debates.
“It cannot be polarised between a Remain Labour Party and a Remain Prime Minister who has negotiated a Remain Brexit. Otherwise it’s not balanced broadcasting.”
The Prime Minister will today travel to Northern Ireland as she begins the first part of a tour of the UK to sell her deal ahead of the meaningful vote, which will be held on Dec 11 after five days of debate in the Commons.
Jacob Rees-mogg, the senior Eurosceptic Tory, said Mr Johnson would be “brilliant” in a debate with Mrs May.
Other party leaders including Mr Corbyn, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said they would like to take part in the debate. Mrs May yesterday declined to commit to taking part in one.
A spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has just been debating Brexit with Jeremy Corbyn in the House of Commons. The House of Commons is not the only thing she will be doing in terms of taking the deal to all four nations of the UK.
“Of course it is of great importance that the Prime Minister should explain to the British people that she is delivering on the referendum.”