Rory Stewart: Brexiters Are Selling Fairy Tales, We Need To Stop Them
4 September 2019, 15:29
Rory Stewart told James O'Brien that he wants to bring Brexiters down to earth to stop them "selling fairy stories".
The former International Development Secretary was one of the 21 Tory rebels who had the whip withdrawn after voting against the government last night.
Speaking to James O'Brien, he said the idea of leaving without a deal on 31st October was simply not achievable.
He said: "This whole project of no-deal Brexit by 31st October was always a fantasy, there was never a majority for it, parliament had already rejected it.
"As that's becoming more and more obvious, they're panicking by doing things like proroguing parliament or purging MPs which I think are offensive to our parliamentary democracy."
Mr Stewart was picking up an award for Politician of the Year when he heard he was having the whip withdrawn by text.
He made an impassioned plea for the Conservatives to regain the centre ground, saying: "The centre ground is where the energy of British politics is. It's where we combine the love of social justice from the left and the national pride from the right.
"The centre ground is where reality is. These people are selling fairy stories and we've got to bring them down to earth if we're going to progress."
Mr Stewart still believes in Theresa May's withdrawal agreement, believing it to be a good compromise and was very frustrated that his bid to get agreement in the House of Commons to stay in the Common Market.
James pointed out it would make everybody mildly unhappy, but he pointed out: "That's always a very good sign. When everybody is mildly unhappy, you're probably in a good place."
