Grant Shapps has waited until the moment the EU Referendum debate was mostly settled before putting his views forward, and somehow still managed to thoroughly embarrass himself.
After going to pieces live on the BBC’s Daily Politics programme recently, when asked about the Tory election fraud scandal, Shapps was notably quiet on the EU Referendum until what he imagined was a safe moment to intervene.
Hours from the closing of voter registration, Shapps came forward on Sky News for his moment in the sun, except he fluffed it and there is no shortage of people in line to throw shade.
.@GrantShapps MP says he will vote Remain #EUref – as he can't ignore "potential turmoil for business" after Brexit https://t.co/zrzyFO9Xj8
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 9, 2016
Shapps told Sky News that his decision came down to what was “good for business” (never mind democracy, workers rights, human rights, civil liberties, the wider economy) while having a pop at both campaigns (something we can agree on).
However, as former Conservative party co-chair, Shapps was well-placed to step in earlier to steer either campaign in a better direction. Instead, he now plays the part of a film director arriving at his own premiere just in time for the closing credits, who on overhearing criticism, currys favour with the malcontents by wholeheartedly agreeing and pinning the blame on the catering crew.
That approach did not go down well, as this exchange between journalists Faisal Islam and Mehdi Hassan points out.
what are his other personas declaring for?
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) June 9, 2016
Hassan is referring to Shapps’ business alias Michael Green.
Hassan and Islam were not the only ones to notice and make their views on the matter known.
https://twitter.com/justmebeingme4/status/740906048056352769
When I saw Grant Shapps trending, I assumed that at last the spiv had been arrested, locked up and the key had been thrown away.
— Ivan White (@ivanwhite48) June 9, 2016
Grant Shapps backs Remain, so that's 5 extra votes #Brexit
— Unnamed Insider (@Unnamedinsider) June 9, 2016
It's fair to say that Grant Shapps isn't going to be organising our battle bus tour #EUref
— Vote Leave Media (@Vote_LeaveMedia) June 9, 2016
We did try to seek out some positive comment on Shapps’ contribution to the debate, for the sake of balance. We couldn’t find any.
Find out what’s really going on:
– Research views for and against Brexit.
– Read about Diem25, which is trying to bring about real democratic change within the EU.
– Full Fact is fact-checking the EU referendum here.
Featured Image via Screengrab
