A member of the BBC Question Time audience accused Nicky Morgan and fellow Tory rebels of a “really treacherous act” for voting against the Government yesterday, saying there was no “question two” on the referendum ballot paper.
He began with a rousing speech in which he said Barnsley voted overwhelmingly Leave (68%) to stop immigration that “damaged the working class communities that this town is”, a bold statement when according to the latest Census data only around 4% of the town’s population are non UK-born, far below the national average of 11.5%.
He added: “We made our decision and we knew why we made it.
“And I know you say we’re thick up North but I remember voting on my ballot paper and it said ‘Leave or Remain’.
“And it didn’t say when I put my [vote] in Leave: ‘Now turn to question two - do you want the soft Brexit or the hard Brexit?’”
His speech won him a round of applause from the audience, but divided others on social media.
Martin Lewis, founder of Money Saving Expert, said:
Leave.EU decided the audience member ‘won the debate’.
But others took issue with the idea that the notion of a hard or soft Brexit was never implicit when people went to the polls last year.
The Question Time gentleman also lashed out at “these elite politicians”, echoing a sentiment voiced recently by Nigel Farage, arguably the most influential voice of the Leave campaign.