Tory MPs abandon pro-Eu group Open Britain as Lib Dems are accused of using it to shoehorn candidates into Parliament
Of the 20 seats the anti-Brexit campaign group are targeting, 18 are currently held by the Conservatives and 14 are major hopes for Tim Farron's party
A HUGE bid by pro-EU groups to oust ‘pro-Brexit’ MPs was branded a Lib Dem front last night after it emerged most of is targets are all major hopes for the party.
Campaigners Open Britain unveiled a plan to persuade voters to get rid of MPs they claim want to sever all links with the EU on June 8.
It includes a call to arms to marshall 600,000 supporters to hit doortsteps in the constituencies to help swing the results.
But analysis reveals 14 out of 20 of the seats in their crosshairs are major targets for the Lib Dems; 18 of the sitting MPs they want to remove are Tories; and five of the Tory MPs targeted – Nicola Blackwood, James Heappey, Luke Hall, Byron Davies and James Berry – even campaigned for Remain during last year’s EU referendum.
Joining forces with two other pro-EU groups the European Movement and Britain for Europe, Open Britain’s plan is one of the biggest attempts to organise tactical voting ever mounted.
It has also emerged that the bid is being masterminded by former Labour Cabinet minister Peter Mandelson, leading to accusations it was the beginnings of a Blairite plot to form a new centre ground political party.
Open Britain’s action also backfired badly after all four of its Tory MP members resigned in fury over the move.
Former ministers Nicky Morgan, Anna Soubry, and Dominic Grieve as well as senior backbencher Neil Carmichael’s walk out leaves the group unable to claim it still has cross party support in the Commons.
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Former Tory business minister Anna Soubry last night attacked Open Britain for not showing her their target seats in advance.
Explaining her walk out, Ms Soubry said: “I will play no part in an organisation which seeks to campaign against my Conservative colleagues”.
She added: “I am extremely concerned this is actually about getting Lib Dems and Blairites back into Parliament”.
Open Britain is also calling on its backers to help keep 20 MPs in Parliament who strongly oppose a hard Brexit.
Three of them are MPs, including former party leader Nick Clegg and North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb – who even defied his party’s three line whip earlier this year to refuse to vote against Brexit in the Commons.
And only one of the 20 they want to help is a Tory – Mr Carmichael.
Open Britain insisted their target list of MPs only includes ones where there is realistic hope of toppling them, and all but two have majorities of under 10,000.
Targets also include committed Brexiteers such as former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and Steve Baker.
The only Labour MP on the target list out of close to 20 to campaign for a Leave vote last year is Kate Hoey, who represents the south London seat of Vauxhall – another Lib Dem target seat.
A spokesman for Open Britain said: “It is understandable that during an election campaign, political differences between members of different parties become magnified.
“We’ve got thousands of supporters from all political parties and none and we have taken the position we have in the election in response to demands from them to be guided on where to campaign.
“We’re proud of the fact that we’ve always been cross-party on the ground and in Parliament and hope to continue to be able to do so outside of the heat and fury of a General Election campaign.”
One of the Tory MPs targeted, Ms Blackwood, dubbed it a "fake Brexiteer list" that is "intended to smear and divide".
The Oxford West and Abingdon MP and health minister told The Sun: "It's so disappointing to see a group that's supposed to be All-Party so obviously hijacked for partisan reasons.
"Not only did I vote remain and stand up for the best outcome for UK science during and after the referendum as Chair of the Science & Technology Committee, starting not one but two inquiries into the subject, but since joining the Government have continued that work as Lifesciences Minister.
"This fake 'Brexiteer' list is intended to smear and divide. The kind of dirty, third-party politics I'm afraid we've come to expect from the Liberal Democrats."