Ben Birchall/PA
Tory grandee and former Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine has addressed ‘the elephant in the room’ this weekend, claiming that the refusal to discuss Brexit by the major political parties is turning this election campaign into a dishonest one.
The lifelong peer has been one of the most critical voices of Brexit from the Conservative benches. He frequently draws attention to the harms caused by leaving the UK – but neither his party nor the opposition are mentioning the B-word.
Last week, Rishi Sunak confirmed that the General Election would be held on Thursday 4 July. Within the first few days of campaigning, there has been silence surrounding the legacy of Brexit. Instead, gimmicks and personal insults have been pushed.
The PM has set tongues wagging with his controversial plans to re-introduce a form of National Service. However, Michael Heseltine would prefer it if the Tories and Labour focused more of their attention on the UK’s relationship with Europe.
Writing for The Independent, the 91-year-old lamented the ‘fear’ of losing votes to the far-right, shown by both parties. He argues that discussions on farming, hospitals, and universities cannot be held in good faith, if Brexit is exempt from the conversation.
You have a point, Lord Heseltine…
“Both major parties are afraid of losing votes to the hard right. Labour needs to rebuild its red wall while the Conservatives run scared of Reform. None of our issues can be honestly addressed in isolation from our relationship with Europe.”
“This election will be the most dishonest in modern times. Yet Europe is the no-go area. Whatever we decide to do, we need to work more closely with our European neighbours, who share our experiences.”
“Until we consider the consequences [of Brexit] for our farms, hospitals and universities of culling the numbers, all the talk of change, the constant assertion of ‘plans’ amount to little more than platitudes blowing in the wind.” | Michael Heseltine
