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The great Brexit text mess: how Boris, Gove and co waged war by phone The great Brexit text mess: how Boris, Gove and co waged war by phone
(about 11 hours later)
‘You should have stuck with me, mate.” On 30 June, seven days after Britain voted to leave the European Union and a few hours after Boris Johnson pulled out of the Conservative leadership race, David Cameron sent this text message to his old Eton rival. Gloating and point-scoring right up to the 11th hour, in 28 characters it perfectly (and grimly) captures the political spirit of the time. And a new book, All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain’s Political Class by political editor Tim Shipman, reveals there were others. So although reducing the political fallout from Brexit to a few texts is about as edifying (and feasible) as rewriting Macbeth on WhatsApp, let’s give it a go … ‘You should have stuck with me, mate.” On 30 June, seven days after Britain voted to leave the European Union and a few hours after Boris Johnson pulled out of the Conservative leadership race, David Cameron sent this text message to his old Eton rival. Gloating and point-scoring right up to the 11th hour, in 28 characters it perfectly (and grimly) captures the political spirit of the time. And a new book, All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain’s Political Class by Sunday Times political editor Tim Shipman, reveals there were others. So although reducing the political fallout from Brexit to a few texts is about as edifying (and feasible) as rewriting Macbeth on WhatsApp, let’s give it a go …
The Johnson/Cameron textsThe Johnson/Cameron texts
In Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of the EU Referendum by Sir Craig Oliver, Cameron’s director of communications describes how Johnson flip-flopped between leave and remain over the weekend when he came out in support of Brexit in February. The day before he publicly backed leave, Johnson sent two texts to Cameron, one warning that he would be campaigning for Brexit, the other suggesting doubt, saying “depression is setting in”. The next day Cameron received a final text saying he would be backing leave. Nine minutes later, Johnson made his intentions public at a press conference outside his London home.In Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of the EU Referendum by Sir Craig Oliver, Cameron’s director of communications describes how Johnson flip-flopped between leave and remain over the weekend when he came out in support of Brexit in February. The day before he publicly backed leave, Johnson sent two texts to Cameron, one warning that he would be campaigning for Brexit, the other suggesting doubt, saying “depression is setting in”. The next day Cameron received a final text saying he would be backing leave. Nine minutes later, Johnson made his intentions public at a press conference outside his London home.
The Johnson/Gove textsThe Johnson/Gove texts
On 29 June, Johnson was at the Hurlingham Club for the Conservative summer ball. He sent Michael Gove, who was sitting at another table, a text about his plan to assure Andrea Leadsom a top job in his government. “Andrea wants me to tweet something like ‘looking forward to campaign launch tomorrow with top team Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom.’ Is that OK?” Gove did not reply. Was the clink of cutlery and boom of Tory voices too loud for him to hear his phone? Or was Gove sabotaging the Leadsom deal on purpose? We might never know, but by the end of the evening Leadsom had decided to run against Johnson. Which brings us to …On 29 June, Johnson was at the Hurlingham Club for the Conservative summer ball. He sent Michael Gove, who was sitting at another table, a text about his plan to assure Andrea Leadsom a top job in his government. “Andrea wants me to tweet something like ‘looking forward to campaign launch tomorrow with top team Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom.’ Is that OK?” Gove did not reply. Was the clink of cutlery and boom of Tory voices too loud for him to hear his phone? Or was Gove sabotaging the Leadsom deal on purpose? We might never know, but by the end of the evening Leadsom had decided to run against Johnson. Which brings us to …
The Johnson/Leadsom textsThe Johnson/Leadsom texts
That same night, with only 12 hours to go until the planned launch of Johnson’s leadership bid on 30 June, his key ally Nick Boles confiscated his mobile phone on the grounds that “we’re focusing on the speech”. Boles claims to have then found a text from Leadsom, sent at 9.38pm, saying: “I am very sorry Boris and Michael but it was very clear that I needed a public statement this evening. I would have been really keen to work with you but I am now going to submit my nomination papers. Best, Andrea.” Johnson claims he had no idea at that point that the deal was off. A text, apparently by Boles, was sent back from Johnson’s phone saying: “Sorry, my cockup. I told Boles about the letter, not about the tweet. We can do the tweet now or tomorrow first thing as you prefer.” Johnson has since accused Boles – who abandoned him to became Gove’s campaign manager – of sabotaging his attempt to team up with Leadsom by stealing his phone. As Shipman writes in his account, “It is astonishing that the future leadership of the country hung, in part, on such misunderstandings.”That same night, with only 12 hours to go until the planned launch of Johnson’s leadership bid on 30 June, his key ally Nick Boles confiscated his mobile phone on the grounds that “we’re focusing on the speech”. Boles claims to have then found a text from Leadsom, sent at 9.38pm, saying: “I am very sorry Boris and Michael but it was very clear that I needed a public statement this evening. I would have been really keen to work with you but I am now going to submit my nomination papers. Best, Andrea.” Johnson claims he had no idea at that point that the deal was off. A text, apparently by Boles, was sent back from Johnson’s phone saying: “Sorry, my cockup. I told Boles about the letter, not about the tweet. We can do the tweet now or tomorrow first thing as you prefer.” Johnson has since accused Boles – who abandoned him to became Gove’s campaign manager – of sabotaging his attempt to team up with Leadsom by stealing his phone. As Shipman writes in his account, “It is astonishing that the future leadership of the country hung, in part, on such misunderstandings.”
The Boles/Gove textThe Boles/Gove text
On 6 July, Nick Boles, by now Michael Gove’s campaign manager, took to Twitter to apologise for a text message he had sent to MPs asking them to vote tactically to prevent the “seriously frighten[ing]” risk of Andrea Leadsom becoming prime minister. “I have apologised to @Gove2016 for the message I sent,” Boles tweeted. “He did not know about it let alone authorise it. And it does not reflect his views.” The text was condemned by, among others, former leader Iain Duncan Smith, who said: “emails or texts like that are failing to smell the coffee, wake up and recognise we want to come back together, that we can get on with each other and do not want to spend the whole time stabbing each other in the back.” On 6 July, Nick Boles, by now Michael Gove’s campaign manager, took to Twitter to apologise for a text message he had sent to MPs asking them to vote tactically to prevent the “seriously frighten[ing]” risk of Andrea Leadsom becoming prime minister. “I have apologised to @Gove2016 for the message I sent,” Boles tweeted. “He did not know about it let alone authorise it. And it does not reflect his views.” The text was condemned by, among others, former leader Iain Duncan Smith, who said: “Emails or texts like that are failing to smell the coffee, wake up and recognise we want to come back together, that we can get on with each other and do not want to spend the whole time stabbing each other in the back.”
The Craig Oliver/ Lucy Thomas textThe Craig Oliver/ Lucy Thomas text
This blunder might not have affected the leadership of the country, but it’s still embarrassing. In a meeting chaired by Oliver, Cameron’s chief spin doctor and author of the aforementioned book, the remain campaigner (and Oliver’s secret lover) Lucy Thomas burst into the room. Oliver sent her a text: “You look shattered xxx”. Unfortunately everyone’s phones in the room vibrated. Oliver had sent his message to the campaign’s WhatsApp group. This blunder might not have affected the leadership of the country, but it’s still embarrassing. In a meeting chaired by Oliver, Cameron’s chief spin doctor and author of the aforementioned book, the remain campaigner (and Oliver’s secret lover) Lucy Thomas burst into the room. Oliver sent her a text: “You look shattered xxx.” Unfortunately everyone’s phones in the room vibrated. Oliver had sent his message to the campaign’s WhatsApp group.