Some rather sinister polling (HERE) has been carried out in a few carefully chosen Conservative held seats. The twelve constituencies don't seem to be in any particular area or order and the polling was done on behalf of some organisation called Brexit Express by ComRes. The constituencies are these: Aberconwy, Eddisbury, Totnes, Beaconsfield, Maidenhead, Bromley, South Cambridgeshire, Broxtowe, Huntingdon, Loughborough, Bracknell and Wimbledon.
At first it isn't clear what the poll is intended to achieve. The questions are a bit odd, for example:
Q.5 Please imagine for a moment that a new political party has been created with one single aim - to put pressure on the main political parties to conclude Brexit as quickly and as fully as possible. To what extent, if at all, might you consider voting for such a party?
Q.6b Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I would be prepared to vote for a party I wouldn't otherwise vote for, in order to ensure that the UK gets the best Brexit outcome possible
You then begin to realise what it's all about with this question:
Q.6c Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? MPs who are in favour of REMAINING in the EU but represent constituencies that voted to LEAVE should step down
Note they do not ask if MPs in favour of leaving but representing remain voting constituencies (John Redwood for instance) should step down, so this isn't a principle thing. It's intended to intimidate isn't it? But it is reassuring to see that in every one of the 12 constituencies a clear majority disagreed with the statement. In other words they did not want their MP to step down.
And finally, the real truth begins to emerges in question 8:
Q.8a-d Your local MP was one of just 12 Conservative MPs who voted against the Government last month in a bid to force the UK to stay in the Customs Union. This would have made it impossible for the UK to negotiate trade deals of its own after Brexit. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements...
My MP was wrong to rebel against the government in July - Overall Agree 45% Disagree 50%
So, overall a majority disagreed. However, in four constituences (Aberconwy, Eddisbury, Huntingdon and Bracknell) a majority agreed the MP was wrong.
The MP's were these eleven:
Aberconwy - Guto Bebb
Eddisbury - Antoinette Sandbach
Totnes - Sarah Wollaston
Beaconsfield - Dominic Grieve
Bromley - Bob Neill
South Cambs - Heidi Allen
Broxtowe - Anna Soubry
Huntingdon - Jonathan Djanogly
Loughborough - Nicky Morgan
Bracknell - Phillip Lee
Wimbledon - Stephen Hammond
The twelfth was Ken Clarke, although presumably he is thought to be impregnable in Rushcliffe. So for some reason Theresa May is included instead although I note her constituents were not asked to answer Question 8 since she obviously didn't vote against herself.
I think this shows what determined and powerful people we remainers are up against and the pressure that MPs who want us to stay in the EU are increasingly under. Worrying? I think it is.
Update 2nd October:
You can see how poisonous it is all becoming when one pro-Brexit MP (Conor Burns) urges an activist to stand against his pro-EU colleague (Sarah Wollaston) on Totnes (HERE). How can the party survive Brexit? Answer: It can't.
Update 2nd October:
You can see how poisonous it is all becoming when one pro-Brexit MP (Conor Burns) urges an activist to stand against his pro-EU colleague (Sarah Wollaston) on Totnes (HERE). How can the party survive Brexit? Answer: It can't.
