Ken Clarke says Boris Johnson will not be in power after general election

Ken Clarke and Iain Duncan-Smith appears on Channel 4 News. Photograph: Channel 4. - Credit: Archant

Ken Clarke has refused to rule out voting against the Conservatives in the general election, warning he may not vote for the party if they pursue a Brexit Party agenda.

Clarke, a long-standing Tory MP, was pressed on whether he would vote Conservative this time, despite being ejected by the party shortly before the poll was called.

Candidly he told that Channel 4 News that “40% of the public have not voted for the same party in the last three elections”.

“It’s not as certain as it has been in previous elections,” he added.

“Because Ken used to vote for himself in previous elections!” pointed out Brexiteer Iain Duncan-Smith.

“It depends what sort of campaign they run, if we really do make ourselves the Brexit Party under our brand, my loyalty is going to be strained, absolutely.

“I’m not voting for some crazy right-wing nationalist organisation calling themselves a Tory government, but that I think is laying it on a bit, I don’t think that will be where we wind up.”

Clarke said that he did not foresee Boris Johnson maintaining power if there was a hung parliament, so consequently the Tories were likely to be the big party “in opposition”.

“I think the Conservative Party will be the big party in opposition. But how on earth you get the Labour Party, the Scottish nationalists, and the Liberal Democrats to agree what day of the week it is, I’m not quite sure.

“They will struggle to form a coalition government and it probably – unless the atmosphere changes – won’t last very long.

He explained that a second referendum was the most likely result of a Remain coalition.

He said: “The only thing I feel certain about is, probably if you have a coalition, they will insist on a second referendum which I’m not particularly in favour myself. I didn’t like the first one, so I’m not keen on a second one.

“I also feel very reasonably confident it won’t be led by Jeremy Corbyn as the prime minister”.