Remain’s female TV team aim to expose ‘Boris bluster’ and woo undecided women voters
BORIS Johnson will face an all-female team of Remain campaigners in a TV debate on the EU this week as David Cameron’s camp tries to neutralise the former Mayor and win over women.
The In campaign believe that putting Mr Johnson up against female politicians will make it hard for him to bluff his way through the debate and could leave him open to a damaging slip. The ex-Mayor of London has previously been attacked as “sexist” after claiming women cry more than men.
It came as Gordon Brown said he will go on a two-week referendum tour to make the positive case for staying in the EU. The former Labour prime minister, who is expected to be used by Remain to claim that rejecting Brexit is the positive decision, vowed not to let Leave campaigners “steal” the badge of patriotism, in a speech yesterday. During the ITV debate on Thursday Mr Johnson is expected to be joined on his side by two women, thus becoming the sole man on stage for the hour-long broadcast hosted by Julie Etchingham.
A senior Remain source claimed the female team will expose Mr Johnson’s “bluster and buffoonery for what it really is, hot air”, to try and swing female voters. He will face SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, Energy Secretary Amber Rudd and Angela Eagle, shadow business secretary, while Andrea Leadsom and Gisela Stuart are likely to represent Vote Leave.
Remain’s all-female choice follows warnings from woman MPs that the EU campaign has become too male. Harriet Harman has complained to regulator Ofcom that men have dominated the debate on TV and radio. The former stand-in Labour leader warned that puts off female voters, and many are yet to decide which way they will vote, according to recent polls.
Ms Eagle warned last night: “Leaving the EU is fraught with risk and for too long in this campaign Boris has been allowed to hide behind his overblown rhetoric and bluster. So I’m looking forward to putting him under real scrutiny and finally pinning him down on the big question he’s failed to answer: ‘What does Out look like?’”
There are fears within the Remain camp that Mr Cameron and his advisors are not doing enough to counter attacks from Tory ministers such as Michael Gove, favouring party unity.
Mark Field, Remain-supporting Tory MP for the City of London, admitted there is “something in” reports that the Prime Minister is holding back to avoid ‘blue on blue’ attacks. But fellow Remain-backing Tory MP Graham Stuart said “making the debate more civil would be a good thing all round”.