Brexit: Two former PMs to join Final Say rally calling for tactical voting to block majority for Boris Johnson

Exclusive: Vote for a Final Say campaign targets seats of Dominic Raab and Iain Duncan Smith in bid to oust Brexiteers

Two former prime ministers – Sir John Major and Tony Blair – are to address a Final Say rally where supporters of a second EU referendum will call for tactical voting to block a Conservative majority government under Boris Johnson.

The rally in London, six days ahead of the 12 December general election, is the most explosive intervention in the campaign so far by the two ex-PMs, both of whom are staunch opponents of Brexit.

It comes as the Vote for a Final Say campaign announced it is throwing resources at the seats of Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, and former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith in the hope of delivering the tactical votes which could oust the two prominent Brexiteers.

No details are yet available of the content of the video message to be given by former Tory PM Major, or whether he will explicitly call on voters to vote against the Conservatives.

But his message will be heard alongside speeches from his former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine, who has already said he would vote Liberal Democrat to stop Brexit, and ex-justice secretary David Gauke, who is standing as an Independent in next week’s ballot and will accuse Mr Johnson of running a “fundamentally dishonest” campaign.

“This general election is about Brexit,” Mr Gauke will say. “And for my former party it is about one soundbite – ‘Get Brexit Done’.

“It is an offer to the country that is fundamentally dishonest. If we follow Boris Johnson’s plan, then we are guaranteed to be dealing with Brexit for years ahead. Rather than putting it behind us, we’ll be plunged into a negotiation that looks doomed to see us leave on WTO terms at the end of next year and yet more years of uncertainty.

“I worked to find a compromise that sought to mitigate the worst effects of Brexit but the hardliners in my former party wouldn’t accept anything other than the hardest of hard Brexit.

“Now the choices are very stark. The country is polarised. It is either a hard Brexit or Remain. Neither option has a mandate from the 2016 referendum. I believe we need to put those options back to the British people in a confirmatory referendum. And in those circumstances, it is overwhelmingly in the national interest to Remain.”

Vote for a Final Say is spending thousands of pounds on targeted advertising in each of 25 key marginal seats where just a few hundred people could yet help halt a Johnson majority.

Last night, after additional funds were secured, the campaign announced it would extend its activities to three more constituencies currently held by the Conservative Party, including South West Hertfordshire, where Mr Gauke – who was expelled by Mr Johnson for voting against a no-deal Brexit – is fighting to prevent Conservatives regaining his seat. The campaign is also backing Lib Dem Monica Harding’s drive to unseat Mr Raab in Esher and Walton and Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen’s campaign against Mr Duncan Smith in Chingford and Woodford Green.

Mr Blair’s former director of communications Alastair Campbell said the rally will send the message that voters who want to stop Mr Johnson gaining total power and imposing a hard Brexit will have to “hold their noses” and vote for whatever party has the best chance of beating Tories in their constituency.

“I have spent the past few days touring marginal constituencies,” said Mr Campbell.

Tony Blair: ‘This is why Labour must not agree to this election ploy until the situation is dealt with’ (PA)

“In some, I have been urging Labour supporters to back the Liberal Democrats. In others, I am asking Liberal Democrats to vote Labour. It may be the only way to stop Boris Johnson from winning big and taking this country well to the right.

“We have seen already how dangerous he is with just a little power. Imagine him with a lot.

“In an ideal world, we would all just vote for the party or candidate who best represents our views and values. But in so many seats, voting Lib Dem or Green against Labour helps only the Tories, and in others voting Labour against Lib Dems helps the Tories too.

“This election is not about Jeremy Corbyn or Jo Swinson – neither can win a majority. It has come down to one simple question: Do you want to give Boris Johnson and the reckless right-wing gang that surrounds him, total power to do whatever they want?

“It is not too late to stop him and secure a democratic Final Say on Brexit. But a lot more people are going to have to focus on who can win their seat, hold their noses, and put aside party loyalty or even views about the respective leaders if we are to have a real chance.”

The rally, organised jointly by Vote for a Final Say and the anti-Brexit youth group For our Future’s Sake, is backed by The Independent, whose editor Christian Broughton is among the speakers.

Also speaking will be Tim Walker, who quit as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Canterbury to encourage his supporters to help pro-referendum Labour MP Rosie Duffield fend off a challenge from a Brexit-backing Conservative.

Vote for a Final Say is spending thousands of pounds on targeted advertising in each of 25 key marginal seats where just a few hundred people could yet help halt a Johnson majority.

Last night, after additional funds were secured, the campaign announced it would extend its activities to three more constituencies currently held by the Conservative Party.

Isi Daley, a young activist with FFS, said that tactical votes to prevent a Johnson majority would be a vote for the future of younger generations.

“This election is different,” said Ms Daley. “It will determine the future of this country – my future – for decades. Many people have realised that Brexit, in any form, is bad for the country. But with Boris Johnson in power, Brexit wouldn’t just be bad, but dangerous.

“The priority for this election is simple: stop Johnson from winning a majority, so that we can continue to fight for a Final Say on Brexit. If you really, honestly, want to win against hatred, against fear, against the party that has made life for vulnerable people a misery, then you need to vote tactically on 12 December.”