Two VERY Different Callers Tell James O'Brien Why They'd Vote For Rory Stewart

4 October 2019, 14:22 | Updated: 4 October 2019, 14:24

James O'Brien explained the appeal of Rory Stewart - based on two VERY different callers who said would vote for him.

The former Conservative Minister announced this morning that he has resigned from the party and will stand down as an MP to run to be Mayor of London.

That will pit him against current Mayor Sadiq Khan, the Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey and Siobhan Benita from the Liberal Democrats.

James was asking the simple question: would you vote for him?

And two different callers said they would - a disillusioned Conservative who backs Remain and a disillusioned Labour leaver.

James thinks that showcases Mr Stewart's position perfectly.

He said: "James in Fulham is a disillusioned Conservative, by which we can conclude he is a Remainer, would vote for him. And so would Imran, a disillusioned Labour supporter who voted for Brexit.

"That's the whole point of Rory Stewart - compromise. And that's why people with pudding for brains can't quite understand him and call him a traitor despite the fact that he voted three times for the only form of Brexit that anyone has been given a chance to vote for in parliament.

"He believes in compromise. And that's so unfashionable.

"His rationale for voting for Theresa May's withdrawal agreement was that there is nothing that the country can do that will please everybody. Whatever the country does is going to profoundly disappoint some people. So surely the best thing to do is to disappoint everyone a bit, rather than to disappoint half the country completely.

"He's trying to build a bridge between two irreconcilable positions. He just thought they were reconcilable.

"Boris Johnson chose the precise opposite path."