Boris lets rip at ‘self-obsessed Remainers’ blocking Brexit in major election speech

In his first keynote speech of the general election campaign, the Prime Minister is to set out a vision of a booming “high skill, high wage” economy fired up by a “clean-energy revolution”. Mr Johnson will insist he needs voters to give him a Tory majority in the December 12 poll to “end the groundhoggery of Brexit” and save the country from the “horror show” of a coalition government led by Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon. And he will launch a scathing attack on Remainer MPs for blocking Brexit out of “political self-obsession”.

His outspoken blast comes as the Tory opinion poll lead over Labour widened to a massive 14 points in one survey last night.

Polling YouGov put the Tories on a 42% share of the vote compared with 28% for Labour in the first snapshot of voter opinion since Nigel Farage announced his Brexit Party will not contest more than 300 Tory-held seats.

Support for Mr Farage’s force fell to just 3% in the YouGov poll of 1,600 voters earlier this week.

Mr Johnson’s speech, at an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in the West Midlands, will focus on the potential for harnessing “the power of science” to modernise the economy once the UK is free of the EU.

His visit will mark a significant intensification in the election battle as the leaders begin daily campaign visits around the country.

He will say that the country must “get Brexit done” to fully realise its potential for success.

Mr Johnson is expected to say: “The UK is admired and respected around the world but people are baffled by our debate on Brexit and they cannot understand how this great country can squander so much time and energy on this question and how we can be so hesitant about our future.

“If we can get a working majority we can get parliament working for you, we can get out of the rut. We can end the groundhoggery of Brexit.”

He will add: “We face a historic choice. At this election the country can either move forwards with policies that will deliver years of growth and prosperity, or it can disappear into an intellectual cul-de-sac of far left Corbynism.”

Mr Johnson is also set to raise eyebrows by using some language from Shakespeare and the Old Testament of the Bible to ridicule the allegedly self-indulgent behaviour of Brexit-blocking MPs.

“We can honour the wishes of the people, or else we can waste more time, at the cost of a billion pounds per month, and have two more referendums, one on Scotland and one on the EU – an expense of spirit and a waste of shame, more political self-obsession and onanism,” he will say.

His reference to an “expense of spirit and a waste of shame” recalls a Shakespearean sonnet while the end of his phrase refers to the Biblical character Onan from the Book of Genesis.

In a rallying cry to voters, the Prime Minister will say: “This is why I urge everybody undecided how to vote – imagine waking up on Friday 13th December after the election to find the Corbyn-Sturgeon coalition in Downing Street.

“They will ruin 2020 with two referendums, they will ruin the economy with out of control debt, they will put taxes up for everyone and instead of an Australian points system we’ll have uncontrolled and unlimited immigration.”

Last night’s YouGov poll showed Tory support up by three points from a previous survey at the end of last week. Labour support was up by two points while the Lib Dems were down one point to 15%.

In a potentially highly significant development, Brexit Party support fell from 9% to 4% between the two polls.

The YouGov poll was carried out for the Times.