Theresa May copies Tony Blair’s tricks in propaganda blitz to sell her hated Brexit deal to Brits
THERESA May will take a leaf out of Tony Blair’s election-winning manual as she goes flat out to sell her Brexit plan to Britain.
The PM will give out millions of pledge cards summing up the five key “gains” of her deal for leaving the EU.
She hopes it will help explain a complex issue in simple terms – and help swing the tide of public opinion back on her side.
Mr Blair first dreamed up the wheeze in 1997 when he gave out handy little cards setting out the key targets for Labour’s first term in office.
They contained modest proposals such as cutting class sizes and NHS waiting lists but were brandished relentlessly throughout the election campaign.
They were judged to be such a success, that he repeated the idea in the 2001 and 2005 general elections.
Mrs May will this week unveil pledge cards of her own as she launches an all-out propaganda blitz to sell the hated deal to Britain.
On Saturday she published a letter to the nation, vowing to fight with her “heart and soul” to win the looming Commons vote.
And she expressed hope that Brexit would help bring an end to two years of bitter division as we draw a line under the debate and move forward.
She said she came to power on a clear mission to fulfil the result of the referendum by delivering a good Brexit.
Mrs May writes: “Throughout the long and complex negotiations that have taken place over the last year and a half, I have never lost sight of that duty.”
The deal she has secured “protects the things we value,” she added. It is in our national interest and is one that works for our whole country, whether you voted Leave or Remain.
Like Mr Blair, she has also opted for five simple messages to explain the deal — an end to uncontrolled immigration, better trade, protection for jobs and taking back control of our laws and money.
The cards, funded by the Conservative party, will be a major weapon to be deployed by Mrs May and her supporters in the weeks leading up to the crucial vote.
In her letter on Saturday she says that March 29 will mark a new chapter in our national life.
She added: “I want that to be a moment of renewal and reconciliation for our whole country.
EU divorce a 'travesty' says Jo Johnson
BORIS Johnson brother has branded the Brexit deal a “travesty” and a “deception” and warned the PM not to use fear as a “crowbar” to ram it through.
Former transport minister Jo Johnson – who quit government in protest against the plan – claimed grassroots party members are rising up against it.
And he revealed that ex-Chancellor George Osborne, a fellow Remainer, sent him a thumbs-up emoji in a text message when he resigned.
Mr Johnson said in an interview: “You really don’t throw a ministerial job away lightly. But when the Cheqeurs proposals emerged, my heart started to sink.”
He added: “The Conservative Party can’t support this deal. All our members are rising up against it.
“The country will feel deceived if we say it’s Brexit when it’s nothing like Brexit. It doesn’t give us trade deals or more controls to our Parliament.
“It’s a travesty of Brexit, and I don’t think the party should have any part in that decption.”
In a thinly-veiled swipe at his big brother, he told the Daily Telegraph: “The case for Brexit was made on rhetorical flourishes and promises and bluster. A lot of promises on which people voted have turned out to be undeliverable. It was a false prospectus. It’s important now that we don’t ram this deal through, using public fear as a crowbar.”
“It must mark the point when we put aside the labels of ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ for good and we come together again as one people. To do that we need to get on with Brexit now by getting behind this deal.
“Parliament will have the chance to do that in a few weeks’ time when it has a meaningful vote on the deal I hope to strike today.
“I will be campaigning with my heart and soul to win that vote and to deliver this Brexit deal, for the good of our United Kingdom and all of our people.”
- GOT a news story? RING us on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk