Conservative MP Nigel Evans was fuming in a live television interview as he demanded to know why the prime minister was trying to win over Labour MPs rather than those in his own party.
In the interview on Sky News the Tory MP was particularly riled up after the Commons voted for the Grieve amendment, which he believed speaker John Bercow had took a concerted effort to make sure happened.
Evans was debating with Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi when he demanded to know why the prime minister was making concessions to Labour to win support for her Brexit deal.
He said: ‘The overtures are now being made to the Labour Party. I’ve got a great idea for Number 10, how about making some overtures to your own party – the Conservative party?
Adam Boulton interrupted the Tory MP to suggest that May had been on a charm offensive with her own MPs by holding drinks events the night before.
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Evans admitted he had a ‘couple of sips’ and a chat with her, before saying: ‘The important thing for us, we have got to govern the country post what happens on Tuesday.
Now if the prime minister makes overtures to the Labour Party, and let’s say she is able to get the treaty through on the back of the Labour Party then we can’t govern because we’ve lost the support of the DUP.’
Boulton said that ‘both parties are split on Brexit’ and ‘the only way it can be sorted out is through cross-party alliance’.
Tonia Antoniazzi agreed and said given the ‘shambles in the chamber’ it was time to ‘move forward’ and ‘put it back to the people’.
She said ‘it’s taken John Bercow to stand up and be counted to try to clear the logjam’.
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A furious Evans said the People’s Vote campaign was a ‘fraudulent device’ used to keep us in the European Union, and said the problem was we were now a ‘Leave country with a Remain Parliament’.
Antoniazzi, however, said Parliament had a duty to listen the views of the people and that opinion had changed on Brexit.
But the Tory MP refused to acknowledge this. He continued: ‘On the day of the referendum the Remain was 10 points ahead in the opinion polls, it’s only when the real votes were counted we saw what the people wanted.’
Presenter Boulton disagreed with his claims.
He said: ‘I don’t think it’s actually true… there was no exit poll and I can’t remember an opinion poll that said Remain was 10 points ahead. Just for the record!’
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