Former deputy prime minister Lord Michael Heseltine has “run rings” around two Brexiteers during an exchange about the failings of leaving the EU that is being widely shared.
The Tory peer, a big beast in the Thatcher and Major governments, went head-to-head with Reform UK leader Richard Tice and journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who were filling in for Piers Morgan on TalkTV on Tuesday.
It came as the Daily Telegraph declared that Brexit was “finally dead” as senior Tory and Labour figures reportedly met to discuss the withdrawal’s problems.
Meanwhile, Bank of England rate-setter Jonathan Haskel said quitting the EU had resulted in a “productivity penalty” of £29 billion.
Lord Heseltine cited these stories – and displayed the newspaper cuttings – as he began his demolition job.
Heseltine: Did you see today’s Daily Telegraph? Brexit is dead.
Tice: Yes, I did.
Heseltine: That was one of your most fanatical supporters. How can your greatest supporters allow this sort of adverse propaganda be published?
Tice: That was an article by (Telegraph assistant comment editor) Sherelle Jacobs, Lord Heseltine. But the point is that she was concerned that the establishment figures ...
Heseltine: Ok, let’s start again. What about this one? The Bank of England. People £1,000 worse off. The Daily Telegraph.
It’s not me. It’s your friends.
The full back-and-forth is worth watching in full.
Other highlights include Lord Hesletine laughing sarcastically at Oakeshott for suggesting Remainers had tried to “thwart Brexit ever happening”.
“You’ve had six years with your hands on the levers of power,” came his riposte. “Don’t tell me it’s people like me or civil servants. What were your ministers doing?”
It caused plenty of comment on social media.
Broadcaster James O’Brien said: “Heseltine could have these clowns for breakfast in his sleep but it’s still remarkable to see how completely they all fall apart under the gentlest reminders of reality.
“Compelling proof that ‘believing in Brexit’ is now just a whisker away from believing that the earth is flat.”