Minister who changed her mind on Brexit claims ‘no-one has changed their mind’

Liz Truss - who changed her mind on Brexit - doesn't think anyone else has. Photograph: LBC/Global. - Credit: Archant

A government minister encountered an awkward moment when she confidently declared that ‘no-one had changed their mind’ on Brexit only for it to be pointed out she already had.

Liz Truss was appearing on Eddie Mair’s LBC Radio programme when she was asked for her views on a second Brexit referendum.

The chief secretary to the treasury said she thought it was a ‘very, very, very bad idea’ because people had not changed their minds since the original EU referendum in June 2016.

‘I don’t think people have changed their minds’, she told Mair, before the presenter pointed out to her that she had.

‘I have – that’s true,’ acknowledged Truss.

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 12: Remain protesters around College Green on March 12, 2019 in London, England. MPs will begin voting on Theresa May’s Brexit deal this evening at 7pm. The Prime Minister has consistently said hers is the only deal that Brussels will entertain and has urged support from Parliament to avoid the UK crashing out of the European Union with no deal.(Photo by Jake McPherson/Getty Images) – Credit: Getty Images

But Truss explained that was ‘the other way’ so with this twisted logic her view still stood.

She explained: ‘But certainly the people I speak to, many who voted Remain, just say ‘please Liz just get on with this’. They don’t want another year or more of limbo, asking the same question again, they just want us to deliver it.’

Mair tried to understand Truss’ logic on behalf of his listeners but was somewhat struggling.

‘So people can change their minds but only if they go from Remain to Leave?’

She was not neccessarily disagreeing.

She said: ‘But the point is I have changed my mind in favour of what people voted for. What we are talking about is a whole bunch of people who haven’t changed their minds, most of the people out there campaigning on College Green are people who have not changed their minds, they’re people who don’t like what other people think and have decided to campaign against it.

‘This is not a massive revolt of people who voted for Brexit, this is people who supported Remain who aren’t happy with their result.’

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Mair was still smarting about the irony of the minister’s comments.

‘People who like you have changed their minds, and they simply just want to express their view on another referendum.’

But Truss would not give in: ‘They haven’t changed their minds, everyone out there I bet haven’t changed their minds.’

Asked if she had spoken to them, she said she was ‘in a rush’ to get to the interview so did not have time.

Polling by YouGov found that the British people believe the decision to leave the European Union was the ‘wrong’ one for the eighteenth consecutive month.

There is now a nine-point majority – by 54% to 45% – in support of Remain.