Lord Lilley "Glad" Lord Heseltine Not Expelled From Conservative Party

21 May 2019, 17:18

Tory peer Peter Lilley tells LBC he is "glad" Lord Heseltine has not been expelled by the Party, but says having the whip removed was "inevitable".

Lord Lilley told Tom Swarbrick that removing the whip from the former Deputy Prime Minsiter would 'make no difference' because he "only ever comes to vote against the governemnt anyway".

"I suppose it was inevitable he'd have the whip taken away, he said. "I'm sad but I'm glad they haven't expelled from the party as some people have suggested."

The Tory peer said he has "always profoundly disagreed" with Heseltine's "idiosyncratic views on Europe" but that he is "an old trooper" of the party.

The Tory grandee said he hoped to not be kicked out of his party after endorsing the Liberal Democrats ahead of the European Elections.

The former Deputy Prime Minister said he intends to vote for the Remain-backing party, saying he could not vote for the Conservative Party when it is "myopically focussed on forcing through the biggest act of economic self-harm ever undertaken by a democratic government."