Old colleagues Major and Blair team up for BRemain

Stage-managed style over substance from two right-wing politicians? Getty images

Op-ed: The upcoming EU in / out referendum is making strange political allies or is it?

We have already had images showing David Cameron with former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown and former Labour leader Neil Kinnock; that was grim but we then had new London Mayor Sadiq Khan sharing an EU better in platform with Cameron; finally Cameron managed to get new Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, Labour's Angela Eagle and others to join him extoling the virtues of the UK staying a part of the EU.

But today a new twist.

Former Tory PM John Major joined forces with Labour's former party leader and PM Tony Blair.

It was a carefully stage-managed joint appearance in Ireland pushing the case for the UK to stay in the EU.

If it is really so vital and desperate the UK stay in the EU why are we having a referendum?

Referendums are costly and divisive in some cases putting young against old, rich against poor, north against south as they jump either in or out.

But back to Messrs Blair and Major.

There is little doubt that today's effort was aimed at people over a certain age.

It was all style and little substance. From the carefully stage-managed shot of the two men suited and booted in expensive clothes the target audience was not working-class poor.

Major may have tried for the 'I was born into a poor working-class family' stunt but that is all it was, a stunt.

The two talked about how children these days are able to take a year out after university to travel the European Union without border restrictions that could be in place if we leave the EU.

Tell that to the many people who right now cannot even afford a home we thought.

The talk was tempered and it has to be said patronising.

Perhaps it was simply aimed at winning Irish voters over?

But the times they are a changing.

Jeremy Corbyn does not do stage managed appearances dressed in all his finery for anybody.

He has a lot to say and will be appearing on TV to make his case June 20 for staying part of the EU.

He might be tarted up be style gurus and spin doctors but that is unlikely. He will however speak from the heart and his supporters will believe what he says.

That is because they know he is a truthful man but can that be said of Blair and Major?

Both men are Thatcher's children.

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Major and Blair Conservative Home

When John Major took over from Maggie Thatcher she said something John may be in the front seat but I will be there occupying the back seat.

For Tony Blair over to the Conservative Home Website where it says "Late in 2002 Lady Thatcher came to Hampshire to speak at a dinner for me. Taking her round at the reception one of the guests asked her what was her greatest achievement. She replied, "Tony Blair and New Labour. We forced our opponents to change their minds." But in a very real sense that only happened between 1992 and 1997.  The 1992 Labour proposition to the country was very different from the 1997 offering. And that was due to the defeat of 1992.  The Conservative government of 1992-1997 by simply sitting there and existing forced Labour to change."

That Tory post has a nice image of buddies Blair and Major!

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