‘We DON'T want that’ Labour MP SAVAGED over Gareth Snell's pro-Remain Brexit stance
A LABOUR shadow minister was left flustered after a Question Time audience member ripped into her over the Brexit stance of her party’s Stoke by-election candidate.
Audience member slams Labour's choice of candidate for Stoke
Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner responded to an audience member’s question over whether “disillusionment” in the political class caused 52 per cent of the British public to vote Brexit.
Ashton MP Rayner said it was time to “get on with it” and build “industries” in places such as Stoke, where the panel debate was taking place ahead of the release of the results from yesterday’s crunch by-election.
But one audience member piped up after Ms Rayner’s monologue, saying he was “not surprised” the public is disillusioned with politics.
Referring to Labour candidate Gareth Snell’s stance on the European Union Referendum, where he voted remain, the spectator continued: “In an area that voted 70 per cent to leave, Labour put up a candidate that is a massive Remainer.”
Rayner hit back, insisting Labour and Mr Snell, who won the by-election last night - backed the triggering of the Brexit starting gun – Article 50 – despite the Parliamentary hopeful’s support of the Remain campaign.
But the riled audience member was having none of it.
He said: “He’s not been shouting about it though, has he?
“If he gets quizzed on it, he answers it, but he hasn’t been going out mentioning that all along.”
We don’t want that around Stoke!
The audience member added: “You mentioned disillusionment, what’s the point in putting a Remainer in an area that the people don’t want that?
“We don’t want that around Stoke!”
Host David Dimbleby then quizzed Labour frontbencher Rayner over the proportion of Labour MPs who voted against the will of the people and refused to back the triggering of Article 50 in Parliament earlier this month.
A flustered Ms Rayner was unable to produce the figure - one in five MPs.
The veteran host then singles out the audience member, saying he “has a point”.
The run-in comes just hours after the polls in Stoke Central closed, with the result set to be a tight race between the Labour candidate and Ukip leader Paul Nuttall.
The by-election garnered massive media attention after Ukip announced Mr Nuttall, elected to the lead his party in November, would stand for the seat.
Almost 70 per cent of residents in the Staffordshire city voted to leave the EU.
And Labour candidate Mr Snell sparked fury after it emerged he described Brexit as a “pile of s***” in a shocking Twitter rant.