From the minute tonight’s EU debate began it was “Get Boris”. In a remarkable attack on her fellow Conservative, Energy Secretary Amber Rudd (spoken of by MPs as a potential leadership candidate), declared: “The only number Boris is interested in is No.10”. She ended on a no less ruthless note: “He’s the life and soul of the party but he’s not the man you want driving you home at the end of the evening.”
In between, her Remain partners maintained the Blitzkrieg. “You only care about one job and that’s your next one,” jibed Angela Eagle. “I wouldn’t trust Boris Johnson with the NHS as far as I could throw him,” warned Nicola Sturgeon. The clear intention was to rattle the only man on the stage, forcing him to overreach. But Johnson didn’t take the bait. Sticking tightly to Vote Leave’s “Take Back Control” script, he derided “the personal stuff” and affected nonchalance: “I missed the insult”. Rather than responding in kind, Johnson turned his opponents’ own words against them. David Cameron, he reminded the audience, had last year derided those who argued that the UK wouldn’t be “okay” outside the EU. He recited Nicola Sturgeon’s denunciation of “Project Fear” during the Scottish referendum and accused her of lining up with its successor.
Content from our partners
