In today’s Article 50 debate, MPs from across the House offered their two cents worth on what Brexit means. However, one Remain MP got more than they bargained for when they sparred with Brexiteer Bill Cash in the Chamber.
After Cash argued that the vote for Leave was perfectly clear, Ken Clarke intervened with a counter argument. The Tory grandee accused Cash of double standards over referendums. Pointing to the 1975 referendum on Europe, Clarke said that Cash had argued that referendum was ‘purely advisory’:
‘He will recall, he and I took part in a referendum in the 1970s when he was no doubt saddened to find he was on the losing side. I seem to recall that he strongly took the constitutional view that that was purely advisory and did not change either his views or political campaigning one iota afterwards.
Just as Nigel Farage and many of his supporters made it perfectly clear when they expected they were going to lose this one that they were waiting for the next chance and they were going to go on. We have to to have respect for each other’s opinions not tell each other that we’ve been ordered by an opinion poll to start abandoning them.’
Alas there was a problem with Clarke’s line of attack. As Cash went on to reveal, he had actually voted ‘yes’ in the that referendum — before being made aware of the problems with Europe:
‘It pains me to disappoint my honourable friend because I voted yes in the 1975 referendum. And it was only as I came into this house that the Whips made what I think was a terrible mistake which was to put me on what was then the select committee of European legislation that I began to see the truth.’
Mr S suspects Clarke should refrain in the future from going on the offensive before getting his facts straight.
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