Michael Gove has admitted he is "nervous" as he prepares to present the case for the UK leaving the European Union in a live Sky News event.
The Justice Secretary will take to the stage on behalf of the Leave campaign tonight to face an hour-long grilling from Sky News' political editor Faisal Islam and members of the studio audience.
He follows in the footsteps of Prime Minister David Cameron, who was greeted with several fiery exchanges as he presented his case for remaining in the bloc.
Speaking ahead of the event, Mr Gove said: "I'm quite nervous ... because I've never done anything like this before but the main thing is I have been chosen to make sure that people have a chance to hear the Vote Leave message, so the main thing that I want do is to try to get across the essence of our case.
"And of course Faisal Islam is a tough interrogator and I'm sure that he will challenge me to make the case as to how life will be a bit different and better if we were outside the European Union, and I'm sure there will be some worries from members of the audience about what leaving might mean.
"I hope to be able to paint a positive picture of life outside and allay people's fears."
When asked what he will try to avoid during the live debate, Mr Gove said: "I think falling over as I arrive or leave would be a bit of a no-no. And cracking up in the middle of one of my own answers."
He said he did not want to mimic former Labour leader Ed Miliband, who almost fell off the stage at a televised event during last year's General Election campaign.
"I remember Ed Miliband falling off the stage, which is why it was in my mind," he said.
He added he will wear a tie during the event. Asked whether it would be a lucky one, he said: "No - most of my ties are very unlucky".
Mr Cameron's appearance on Thursday marked the first major television event of the referendum campaign.
In his interview with Islam he admitted that at times he found the European Union "immensely frustrating", but said the UK would "absolutely not" be better off outside the bloc.
"I would just say to everybody: as we go home and wake up in the morning and look our children and our grandchildren in the eye and we think who we are responsible for through our pay packet, let us not roll the dice on their future," he said.
He was accused of "scaremongering" and "hypocrisy" as he faced down angry members of the public in the audience during a 30-minute question session.
At one point university student Soraya Bouazzaoui told Mr Cameron he was "waffling" as he replied to her question about the potential for Turkey joining the EU.
Interrupting him, she said: "I'm an English Literature student, I know waffling when I see it, OK?"
According to the latest poll, the Remain campaign appears to have lost ground to Vote Leave.
For the first time, a telephone poll by ICM for The Guardian newspaper has suggested a 4% lead for Vote Leave (52%) over Stronger In (48%) once 'don't knows' are excluded.
:: Sky News will be hosting another debate on the EU referendum at 8pm on Friday featuring Justice Secretary Michael Gove, a leading figure in the Leave campaign.
No comments:
Post a Comment