TWO heavyweight politicians will travel to Heytesbury in May to lock horns in a live EU debate, as the referendum draws nearer and the arguments for both sides gain momentum.

Sir Vince Cable, former Business Secretary for the Liberal Democrats, will argue why Britain should remain in the European Union and Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin will oppose, with the debate being chaired by Elinor Goodman, former Political Editor of Channel 4 News.

The event will start at 3.30pm on May 28 at Heytesbury Church and there is no entry free, but a collection will be taken to cover expenses.

Liz Colvin, one the organisers, said: “My sister and I were discussing the EU when we realised that all of the local debates so far have been quite one-sided, with just one person sharing their view of how Europe will be a magical utopia after the votes have been counted, which isn’t realistic.

“So we decided to do something about it and create our own event. I asked Elinor, who is a friend of mine, if she could help out and she managed to secure Vince Cable, who was rather fortunately already scheduled to visit Salisbury that day, and I tracked down Bernard Jenkin.

“We hope that two experienced politicians and a professional journalist who is used to coping with such people will be able to have a proper debate on what is a hugely important topic.

“We really want people to come along with challenging questions, and we want a wide spread of people from all ages, backgrounds and political persuasions.

“Heytesbury Church is a great venue for such an event and it promises to be a really interesting and informative debate. This is a massive decision which will vastly impact our country.”

Mr Cable is a long-term pro-European. Originally a member of the SDP, he was Chief Economist at Shell before being elected to Parliament in 1997.

He was a key member of the coalition government, although often disagreed with both his own leader and the Prime Minister in his attempts to stand up for what he believed were Liberal Democrat principles, and was knighted in 2015.

Bernard Jenkin is Chairman of the Public Administration Committee at Westminster and drafted the letter to the Prime Minister from Tory backbenchers which called for renegotiation of Britain’s terms of EU membership.

The EU referendum takes place on June 23.

To book a free ticket online, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/heytesbury-inout-debate-tickets-24510510597?aff=efbnreg or ring (01985) 840323