Johnson ‘floating on zip wire towards Brexit pot of gold’, says Stewart

Boris Johnson is "floating along his zip wire" towards a "pot of gold" Brexit deal which he may not reach, his former Tory leadership rival Rory Stewart has said.

The MP for Penrith and the Border also said a no-deal scenario will be used as a "huge explanation for almost everything going wrong in our society" over the next 40 years.

Mr Stewart said colleagues will be reluctant to vote against the Prime Minister as they want to give him the benefit of the doubt and also because of the "positive things" he is doing domestically.

"The argument then becomes really tough because the Prime Minister is saying that he's trying to get a deal," Mr Stewart said during a session at the Big Tent Ideas Festival in east London.

"And if you're going to be very, very optimistic, you're going to feel, 'well, OK, he's going to get a deal so there's no point in me voting to stop no deal because he's going to get a deal'.

"And I have to somehow communicate something that's quite difficult, which is this is a very, very high-risk strategy.

"He's floating along his zip wire towards his pot of gold but he may not get to that pot of gold, and if he doesn't he is trapped into saying that he will leave the European Union on 31 October. Do or die. Come what may."

Mr Stewart sparked laughter in the tent as he reminded the crowd of the moment Mr Johnson famously got stuck on a zip wire waving union flags in 2012.

The MP also said he would not be prepared to see Jeremy Corbyn as an interim prime minister to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

"I don't want a Jeremy Corbyn government," he said, adding: "I can't quite see how it would help at all.

"If what we want to do is stop a no-deal Brexit, we can introduce legislation on Tuesday and Wednesday to stop a no-deal Brexit.

"A Jeremy Corbyn government is completely irrelevant to the question of stopping a no-deal Brexit."

He said a no-deal scenario will be viewed in future in a similar way as Margaret Thatcher is remembered in some areas of the country.

"The Tory no deal will become for 40 years a huge explanation for almost everything going wrong in our society. And on the other hand, remain would do the same thing."

Mr Stewart was in conversation with Ayesha Hazarika at the festival on the Isle of Dogs on Saturday.