My Brexit has become a dirty word, says Shropshire man who coined description

Mr Wilding came up with the term when he worked as an advisor to David Cameron.

Now the 54-year-old is out of politics and working as a director with Shropshire and Black Country-based FBC Manby Bowdler.

Mr Wilding visited the University of Wolverhampton Business School, where he praised the vibrancy of the city and said it was good that students he met were engaged in the Brexit debate.

But he admitted that with the escalating chaos in Westminster, the term now had overwhelmingly negative connotations.

He said: “I would say that it’s a shame the word has been tarnished because it could have been a word for positivity, for unity, but it’s become a word for division and incompetence.

“Obviously, I didn’t know it would become popular but it’s so sad it’s been corrupted by a failure of particular leadership.

“An American coined the phrase Grexit and so in short, I just so happened to put the obvious into print and the point I wrote was that unless Britain shows leadership in Europe, Grexit will be followed by another bad word.”

Mr Wilding, who now lives in Shropshire, said the West Midlands could be affected by the impact of Brexit.

He said: "The Government predicts the West Midlands' GDP falls by about 13 per cent in the medium term.

"The key part of our jobs here are in manufacturing, hospitality and in agriculture and these three are getting it in the neck.

"Farmers don't know if they can export, manufacturers does not know if they can get components in time and the hospitality industry doesn't know if it can fill bars with staff because EU citizens are leaving in droves.

"It depends on a no deal or whether May's deal squeaks through and it's going to be very hard if there's no deal, but a lot of people are doing the maths and they think that even if May survives – and she's going to lose tomorrow by a lot – she can’t be forced to do anything so the difficulty is a no deal at the end of the month or by a short extension.

“The effect will be in queues of the Eurostar of the and there will be a revolutionary change in the country.

“With May’s deal nothing will change for a short part of time.”

Mr Wilding, from Shropshire, said the current negotiations was no longer a “battle for Britain” - rather a “battle for the Conservative Party”.

He said: "I would describe it as predictable. It's not a battle for Britain – it's a battle for the Conservative Party and the reason why May can't negotiate the simplest of Brexit deals is because of the fact between 100 to 150 people in the party, want a no-deal Brexit because they want to create a new model economy – what I call the market state, rather than the welfare state.

"And because the deal means Britain is tied to Europe and its rules – as a rule-taker – for at least another three years and it ties the UK into a Customs Union potentially forever, that stops them creating their new paradise.

"When she took over she should've said people didn't vote to make themselves poorer.

"What we should've done is said 'we're going to leave, stay in the single market’ and during that period, negotiate what she can.

"And because she was imprisoned by Boris and Rees Mogg, who wants the model economy, and her own prejudices because she wanted immigration to stop, the only way to do that is to leave the common market - so it's [negotiations are] not going well

Mr Wilding said people in the country were “politically homeless” - and criticised the two largest parties.

He said: “I’m surprised at how apathetic people are. They are fed up, bored, irritated over a real lack of leadership.”

“I was Cameron’s man in Brussels but the Conservative Party has gone way way from where I want it to go.

“A lot of people are politically homeless and there’s one good thing to come from Brexit - it might be the match which ignites a change in politics in this country.

“Both parties have been going through an existential crisis and when you think about it they have not won it [an election] outright since 1987 with a substantial majority.

“And the current Labour Party have binned the Blairite way of winning, so they are at 31 per cent in the polls behind the most unpopular Government of all time.

“It’s making them think giving the fact nine MPs have left the party.

“It would only take May or Corbyn to whip MPs against a second vote, or whipping them in favour of supporting a no deal and if that happens there will be more defections.

“Brexit could change everything.”