The EU Debate: Team Changes
ITV’s Peston on Sunday reported that Loughborough University had researched the numbers of media appearances during the referendum campaign. Their figures were:-
01. David Cameron 357
02. Boris Johnson 275
03. George Osborne 143
04. Nigel Farage 109
05. Michael Gove 101
06. Iain Duncan-Smith 97
07. Jeremy Corbyn 52
08. Jacob Rees-Mogg 32
09. John Major 27
10. Priti Patel 24
Thus the top 10 comprises eight Conservatives, Nigel Farage (UKIP) and Jeremy Corbyn (Labour). Opinion polls have been moving towards the Leave Campaign and this morning’s newspapers reported leads of 6% and 7%. Now opinion polls can be wrong, the classic example being the 1992 general election.
However, the Remain Campaign are understandably concerned and the suggestion is that David Cameron in particular is not getting through to Labour voters. This does seem to be true and one alleged reason is that he was educated at Eton. Personally I am more put off by his series of contrived Campaign Fear statistics and name calling. For example, in Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons last week, he told his opposite number that Labour MP Gisela Stuart was out campaigning for Nigel Farage. What desperate nonsense! Surely he knows that Gisela and Nigel are both campaigning to leave the EU.
For the time being, the Remain Campaign are putting forward more Labour speakers, especially Gordon Brown, and de-emphasising David Cameron. The Leave Campaign though are not being outdone. We’ve now got the Sun newspaper backing brexit. Don’t write off the Sun. A lot of people (including Labour voters) read it.