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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/11/two-cabinet-ministers-interested-in-new-anti-brexit-party-james-chapman
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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Two cabinet ministers 'interested in new anti-Brexit party idea' | Two cabinet ministers 'interested in new anti-Brexit party idea' |
| (3 days later) | |
| James Chapman, ex-David Davis aide, says ministers contacted him after his tweets proposing centrist ‘Democrats’ party | James Chapman, ex-David Davis aide, says ministers contacted him after his tweets proposing centrist ‘Democrats’ party |
| Matthew Weaver | Matthew Weaver |
| Fri 11 Aug 2017 09.04 BST | Fri 11 Aug 2017 09.04 BST |
| Last modified on Wed 14 Feb 2018 15.34 GMT | |
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| A former aide to David Davis and George Osborne claims two serving cabinet ministers have expressed interest in his idea of forming a centrist party aimed at blocking Brexit. | A former aide to David Davis and George Osborne claims two serving cabinet ministers have expressed interest in his idea of forming a centrist party aimed at blocking Brexit. |
| James Chapman stepped up his online campaign for a proposed “Democrats” party he has been mounting while on holiday in Greece, saying Brexit signalled the demise of the Conservatives. | James Chapman stepped up his online campaign for a proposed “Democrats” party he has been mounting while on holiday in Greece, saying Brexit signalled the demise of the Conservatives. |
| A number of serving, former and shadow cabinet ministers contacted Chapman after he posted a series of provocative tweets this week, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. | A number of serving, former and shadow cabinet ministers contacted Chapman after he posted a series of provocative tweets this week, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. |
| He said: “Two people in the cabinet, a number of people who have been in Conservative cabinets before now – better cabinets, I might say, than the current one – and a number of shadow cabinets ministers have also been in touch. | He said: “Two people in the cabinet, a number of people who have been in Conservative cabinets before now – better cabinets, I might say, than the current one – and a number of shadow cabinets ministers have also been in touch. |
| “They are not saying they are going to quit their parties, but they are saying they understand that there is an enormous gap in the centre now of British politics.” | “They are not saying they are going to quit their parties, but they are saying they understand that there is an enormous gap in the centre now of British politics.” |
| Chapman, a former political editor of the Daily Mail who works for the PR firm Bell Pottinger, said the Conservative brand had been so tarnished by Brexit that it would never win a working majority again. | Chapman, a former political editor of the Daily Mail who works for the PR firm Bell Pottinger, said the Conservative brand had been so tarnished by Brexit that it would never win a working majority again. |
| He said Labour and the Conservatives had been taken over by extremists. Appearing alongside the Tory MP and leading Brexiter Jacob Rees-Mogg, Chapman said: “The two main parties have been captured by their fringes, and Jacob is a member of that fringe and he has captured my party and I don’t any longer want to be a part of it. | He said Labour and the Conservatives had been taken over by extremists. Appearing alongside the Tory MP and leading Brexiter Jacob Rees-Mogg, Chapman said: “The two main parties have been captured by their fringes, and Jacob is a member of that fringe and he has captured my party and I don’t any longer want to be a part of it. |
| “The hard Brexit plan that [Theresa] May is pursuing is going to take our economy off a cliff, is going to make Black Wednesday look like a picnic, and when that happens the Conservative party will never be in power again.” | “The hard Brexit plan that [Theresa] May is pursuing is going to take our economy off a cliff, is going to make Black Wednesday look like a picnic, and when that happens the Conservative party will never be in power again.” |
| He pointed out that 60% of the Tory parliamentary party backed remain in the EU referendum. | He pointed out that 60% of the Tory parliamentary party backed remain in the EU referendum. |
| He also denied that his former boss George Osborne was involved in a campaign to form a new party, despite the former chancellor’s trenchant editorials against Brexit and May that he publishes as editor of Evening Standard. | He also denied that his former boss George Osborne was involved in a campaign to form a new party, despite the former chancellor’s trenchant editorials against Brexit and May that he publishes as editor of Evening Standard. |
| Asked if Osborne was behind the move, Chapman said: “Not at all. I haven’t spoken to George about this. I think he is having a great deal of fun editing the Evening Standard.” | Asked if Osborne was behind the move, Chapman said: “Not at all. I haven’t spoken to George about this. I think he is having a great deal of fun editing the Evening Standard.” |
| Rees-Mogg said despite the proposed name for the party, what Chapman was suggesting was anti-democratic. | Rees-Mogg said despite the proposed name for the party, what Chapman was suggesting was anti-democratic. |
| He said: “Most people in the higher levels of the party, and across the Conservative party in the nation, have accepted the democratic result of the referendum a year ago. | He said: “Most people in the higher levels of the party, and across the Conservative party in the nation, have accepted the democratic result of the referendum a year ago. |
| “What’s so peculiar about this new party is that it wants to call itself the Democrats and the first thing it wishes to do is to overturn a democratic decision. Their proposed name ought to be the Oligarchs rather than the Democrats. | “What’s so peculiar about this new party is that it wants to call itself the Democrats and the first thing it wishes to do is to overturn a democratic decision. Their proposed name ought to be the Oligarchs rather than the Democrats. |
| “The Lib Dems campaigned on a proposal [in effect] to reverse the referendum and the electorate blew a raspberry at them.” | “The Lib Dems campaigned on a proposal [in effect] to reverse the referendum and the electorate blew a raspberry at them.” |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| Conservatives | Conservatives |
| Jacob Rees-Mogg | Jacob Rees-Mogg |
| European Union | European Union |
| David Davis | David Davis |
| George Osborne | George Osborne |
| news | news |
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