McGovern and Brexit supporter and Conservative MP Kwasi Kwarteng joined Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard on the show today after last night’s news that the House of Commons have backed an amendment which will give parliament a vote on the Brexit deal.
“Do you still describe yourself as a Remainer?” the Good Morning Britain presenter quizzed McGovern.
“I don’t think we should define ourselves in those terms anymore,” she replied cautiously, before Reid, 47, cut her off exclaiming: “That’s exactly how all the papers are defining them!”
“I think we’ve had a general election since the referendum,” McGovern explained. “I describe myself as somebody who is pro European and proud to be so.”
Reid, however, wasn’t satisfied, persisting: “Are you committed to Brexit?
“You voted to defeat the government on this,” she added.
“Yeah, because we’ve got to have a good process,” the Labour politician insisted. “The country has been very divided and we’ve got to have a process that everyone can understand and take part in and believe in.”
“Are you trying to stop Brexit?” Reid probed.
“The country decided to leave the European Union and whilst it wasn’t my choice, we have to do it now,” she replied, staying firm under the GMB host’s interrogation. “We’ve had a general election where Theresa May put her version of Brexit to the public and she didn’t win an overwhelming majority.
“So that puts us in kind of difficult position because we have to work out a way forward which brings people together.”
Kwarteng, however, revealed his view on the Tory rebels who chose to back the amendment, saying: “I don’t know what their motives are but certainly a lot of people watching will be thinking that this is just another way of trying to reverse the decision last year and keep us in the EU.
“It’s no surprise that all the 11 rebels were very, very firm campaigners for the Remain side and a lot of them feel very aggrieved and very upset that we voted to leave the EU,” he added.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV