Sir John Major last night warned that Tory infighting over Europe could make Britain ‘ungovernable’.
The former prime minister, whose time in office was wrecked by feuds over Europe, said ‘democrats should worry’ about the polarisation taking place in the Conservative and Labour parties.
Speaking at an event at Westminster Abbey, Sir John said the ‘anti-European right’ and ‘neo-Marxist left’ were ‘making headway in a battle for the soul of their respective parties’.
Sir John Major has warned that Tory infighting over Europe could make Britain ‘ungovernable’
Sir John, who was in No 10 from 1990 to 1997, said factions within the two parties were fighting each other ‘more vigorously than they do their opponents’. He added: ‘This is dangerous territory. The malcontents should remember that, without some give and take, without some effort at consensus, our tolerant party system can become ungovernable.
‘If fringes begin to dominate a political party, the middle ground of their support will turn away in disgust, as the shrillest voices and the most extreme views begin to dominate debate. Where that risk arises, democrats should worry. Indeed, they should do more than worry – they should fight back.’
Sir John, a diehard Remainer, described Brexit as ‘an historic blunder’ and warned that Parliament was grinding to a halt because of the sheer weight of Brexit legislation. Last night he also called on Theresa May to rein in ‘attack dog’ special advisers who he blamed for inflaming tensions between ministers.
He urged her to sack any aide found to have leaked material in an effort to bring disrepute to another minister.
In a thinly veiled swipe at Mrs May’s former chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, he said some advisers had ‘acquired unjustified power that has been misused’, adding: ‘At times they have driven wedges between ministers and their civil servants.
Sir John, pictured at the Tory Party conference in 1996 , was prime minister from 1990 to 1997
Some have been used as attack dogs – on both their political opponents and their colleagues. ‘The culprits were often protected by their ministers, when they should have been dismissed without ceremony.’
Sir John also suggested that ministers should ban large donations to political parties from business and unions in order to tackle public concerns about potential corruption.
He said many political donors were ‘altruistic’ but warned that ‘others may seek to exact a price’.